My Personal Hell
by lari223
Summary: Edward left in NM. Bella got changed by Laurent's new coven. The Cullen's meet a Bella-look-a-like. Throw in Victoria and everything goes wrong from there. B/E, but eventually B/OC. Co-written with purpletea.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Change**

Bella's POV

I scowled as I scanned the airport food court for the third time. I couldn't believe it. It was just ridiculous. What kind of self-respecting airport didn't have a Starbuck's?! I checked my watch before heading to the exit. It had a six-hour layover, and about five hours of it was left. That was enough time to run outside, down the street, and through a Starbuck's line. At least, I sure hoped it was, since my mom would be worried if I got to Jacksonville late.

I stepped out onto the street, looking down the block in both directions. No sign of a Starbuck's, but this was Chicago, it couldn't be far. I walked back into the airport and quickly asked the lady at the desk for directions. I tried to memorize what she said, praying I wouldn't get lost in this city. It wasn't that much bigger than Phoenix, maybe even the same size—I wasn't sure—but I wasn't familiar with this one.

I found the Starbuck's without incident and bought my coffee, smiling at my good luck. As I sat down at one of the small tables to enjoy my drink, my mind involuntarily wandered back to what had brought me to this city. It had been about six months since the Cullens had left, and I tried to tell myself that I was over it, but it still hurts. Charlie must have noticed I was still kind of depressed because Renee suddenly wanted me to visit her in Jacksonville.

I know she's trying to cheer me up with this trip, but I don't think she's going to have much success. The sunshiny brightness of Jacksonville just seems to mock my pain. How can I be expected to spend a month in a place so at odds with my mood? The relentless rain of Forks would be better suited, or even this city, Chicago. Even on the brightest days this place was still gray full of gray, graphitized buildings, infested with homeless people, and shrouded in smog.

I sighed and threw my empty coffee cup into the trash. I stepped back onto the street, hating how the darkness seemed to creep up on me. Another bad thing about this trip, I landed in Jacksonville at six am. That meant that my layover in Chicago started at about eleven pm. There was nothing in Chicago that would be safe for a seventeen-year-old girl on her own to do at midnight. I glanced nervously up and down the street before cutting through an alley to save time. The airport that I'd been so desperate to get out of earlier was now looking nice and cozy. Too bad I never got there.

Laurent's P.O.V.

I leaned against the wall of the alley, waiting for another member of my coven to arrive. He was supposed to meet me here, but he was late, as usual. I wasn't sure if that came from being a young vampire, or from being a gangster in his human life. I shook my head as I looked down at my stereotypical gang banger attire, not able to believe I'd been roped into this. It was a stable coven, however, and that was what I'd needed after what happened with James and Victoria.

My head snapped to the right as I heard the sound of footsteps and caught the scent of human blood. It smelled delicious, and vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd smelled this scent before. _Well, we were supposed to go hunting anyway,_ I thought, _I'll just take a head start since he's late._ I smiled hungrily as my burgundy gaze fell on a black-haired girl coming towards me. She was looking nervous, but didn't see me where I stood in the shadows. I was about to lung when she stepped into a small patch of light and I recognized her.

"Bella?" I asked incredulously as I stepped into the light. I wasn't surprised to see her so much as I was surprised to see her without her vampire mate, Edward.

She squinted at me for a minute before saying, "Laurent?"

"I know the last time we met I looked a bit, well, different," I said, glancing down at my clothes again.

"Yeah, I thought you were staying with the Denalis," she said cautiously, having noticed my red eyes.

"I found their way of life a bit too . . . uneventful, for my taste," I replied. I found myself slipping back into my old accent and way of speech. I'd never liked the gangster slang much.

"Oh, well, um, did you find a new coven then?" she asked. I could smell her fear.

"Yes, in fact, I'm supposed to be meeting one of the others to go hunting," I said. She tried to hide the look of terror that flashed across her face but didn't succeed. "Don't worry, we won't attack you. Neither of us wants to catch hell from the Cullens for killing their pet," I said, "Speaking of which, where is your mate tonight?"

"At home. I'm on my way to visit my mom, and, well, he wasn't invited," Bella said, clearly relieved.

"Yo, you startin' without me?" came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Kyle, the vampire I was supposed to meet here.

"Naw, man, she's not—!" I started to say, but he cut in.

"She sure smells good," he said, sliding into a hunter's crouch.

"Don't--!" I yelled, but it was too late. He lunged, biting into her neck while the terrified Bella stood there, too shocked to move. I rammed into him from the side, knocking him away. Bella crumpled to the ground, and Kyle stumbled but stayed on his feet, glaring at me.

"What'd you do that fo?" he demanded.

"Dude, she's a pet! This big coven up in Washington, the Cullens, has some kinda claim on her. If you kill her they'll come after you and rip you apart," I said.

"I think we could take 'em," he said, proving to me once more how stupid he was.

"Moron, they got seven people, some of them real good fighters," I said, "We got three, and I ain't getting into a fight with them just cuz you were bein' stupid."

"Fine, I won't kill her, but what do we do with her?" he asked.

"We gotta take her back to the den. She'll be changing, and once the screamin' starts the humans'll know something's up," I said.

"Johnny'll kill us, man!" he protested, naming the leader of our coven.

"The _Volturi_ will kill us if humans find her," I said. I looked down at Bella, who was whimpering softly but hadn't begun screaming yet. I knew that if we just left her here then someone would notice her eventually. Of course the stupid human doctors wouldn't know what was wrong, and when the change was finished, they'd have all sorts of questions about how she was alive when her heart wasn't beating. The Volturi wouldn't be too happy about that.

"Alright, I'll go ahead and warn Johnny," Kyle said and took off running. I picked up Bella and threw her over my shoulder, then waited a few seconds before following Kyle.

Bella's P.O.V.

I could hear them talking, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Since the second that other vampire bit me, all I could focus on was the pain steadily growing in my neck. I knew what was happening, what I was becoming, and I was trying to be brave and not scream. It felt like fire burning through my veins, searing every fiber of my body. I couldn't help but scream and thrash around eventually.

And so followed the three most painful days of my life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer****: (Sorry I forgot this last chapter) I don't own Twilight. :(**

**Chapter 2: Talk with the Gang**

Bella's POV

The pain continued to burn through my body, but I could tell it was almost over. I was glad. The burning was agonizing to a point where I just wanted someone to kill me. My heart rate slowly lowered until it finally stopped.

"Damn, is it over yet?" someone said. I was a little disappointed. For some unknown reason, I was hoping it would be Edward there, but it wasn't. I mentally shook myself. I shouldn't be thinking about Edward; he doesn't want me. I don't need him.

_Or do you? _A voice inside my head asked. No, I definitely don't need Edward. He left and is never coming back. He doesn't love me anymore, and I don't love him.

_It's bad to lie to yourself._ What? I'm not lying. I'm hurt by what he did to me, but I'm over him. I'm going to start my life over and forget all about him and the Cullen family.

_You're in denial._ I am not in denial!

_Yes, you are._

"SHUT UP!" I screamed to the voice in my head. I opened my eyes to find three vampires. One was Laurent, in gangster attire. That was a scary site. The one to his left, which I remembered as the one that attacked me, was on the short side. He had dark skin and short black hair. He gave off an intimidating feel. The one on Laurent's right was very tall. He, like the other, had dark skin and short black hair. He looked a lot stronger, though, which vaguely reminded me of Emmett. All three vampires were staring at me as if I was crazy, which I'm not. _Denial!_

"Bella, no one was talking," Laurent said slowly, as if I were five. "Anyway," he changed the subject. "This is Kyle," he pointed to the one who had bitten me. "And this is Johnny, our coven leader." I smiled at them, hoping to convince them I wasn't crazy. No such luck.

"I'm Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella," I said as nicely as I could. I was startled by the sound of my new, bell-like voice.

Kyle and Johnny shared a look and Johnny mumbled, "Whatever," before they both left. Only Laurent and I were left in the room. Laurent looked worried for some reason. "They don't seem to like me," I said, talking about Johnny and Kyle.

Laurent seemed to ignore what I said. "Bella, where are the Cullens?" he asked. Oh, so that's why he was worried. He was afraid the Cullens were going to kill him and his friends for hurting me. I snorted at the idea. The Cullens left me; they don't care. I felt anger well up in me. I hated all the Cullens, even Alice and Esme, for leaving me. For betraying me.

I looked down and sighed sadly. "They left me," I said. It was one thing to know it, but to admit it out loud was another. Kyle burst in.

"They left the pet?" he said with a tone of surprise and anger. "You mean I coulda killed her without bein' burned by them? Damn!"

I gave him a sour look. "Sorry to disappoint you," I said sarcastically. He huffed and stormed out of the room. I turned back to Laurent, just remembering something.

"Charlie and Renee?" I asked. He knew what I meant.

"They think you're missing or dead. When you didn't arrive in Jacksonville, they contacted the police here in Chicago. When they learned that some of your blood was found in an alley, and you were nowhere to be found, they assumed you were dead. There are high crime rates here," he added, implying that he was the cause of said crime rates.

After a long silence, I wondered aloud, "What am I going to go know?"

"Ya ain't stayin' here," I heard Johnny call from the other side of the house. I didn't really want to stay here. These people don't seem too nice. But where could I go?

"You could always go find the Cullens and-" Laurent suggested but I cut him off.

"Hell no! I'm not going to go with them. For all they'll ever know, I'm dead," I said in a stubborn manor.

"Okay, then you can be a nomad," Laurent suggested. A nomad? I never considered it. It didn't sound like that bad of an idea. It might seem a little lonely, but I could always visit some other nomad in the area I'm in. And traveling the world does seem fun.

"I might try that."

"Well, you know all about vampires and the rules and such so I don't have to explain them. You should probably go hunt." That's when I realized my throat was burning. Then I thought, _is it right of me to kill people?_ I am a vampire though. I shouldn't deny what I am. And besides, why would I want to be like the Cullens? Yeah, right!

I said my goodbyes, and started to leave the beat up apartment those pigs lived in. I noticed something in a broken mirror that made me stop and look.

The girl who I saw in the mirror was way too pretty to be myself. She was too flawless and beautiful to be me. Her skin was paler then mine once was. Her hair was darker and shinier then my hair was when I was human. She looked strong and perfect instead of weak and pathetic. Worst of it all, her eyes-my eyes- were blood red.

"Like your new look?" asked Laurent, who I didn't realize was behind me. I nodded. "Well sorry to interrupt you standing there, but Johnny said that he would be happier if you left. Sorry, once again." We exchanged goodbyes once more, and then I left for good.

On the outskirts of Chicago, in a random alley, I saw a human. I was having second thoughts on whether I should kill it or not. I was surprised that I hadn't killed it yet. From the stories I heard, I was supposed to be some crazed, unstoppable, killing machine or something. I thought of the Cullens. I don't want to be like them, right? That inspired me to lung at the human who was sitting in the middle of the alley, as if asking for something to come up and kill it.

I didn't stop there. I went on a little killing spree after that. Fifteen humans later, I was running away from the alley full of dead bodies, and into the forest. I couldn't believe what I had done. I killed all those innocent people to prove to myself that I'm different from the Cullens. All I proved was that I'm a killer and a monster. Damn, I'm starting to sound like Edward.

I wandered around the area for a while, looking for some random nomads to hang out with. I found my life as a bloodsucking monster becoming boring and lonely. Days passed, then weeks and months. Years. I found myself continuing to hold my grudge on those damn Cullens. They ruined my life. It was all their faults. I hated the Cullens.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.**

**Basically, it's been 10 years since Bella was changed into a vampire. The Cullens don't know she's a vampire. They think she's dead. In this chapter we introduce an OC named Sam. And so the fun begins!**

Alice's P.O.V.

"Rosalie!" I called up the stairs. I wasn't yelling, but I knew she could hear me in her room.

"I'm not going shopping with you!" she replied, sounding annoyed. I sighed. I'd known her response, but I couldn't help but hoping she might change her mind at the last second. I could hear her stomping around her room, angry at just about everything.

"Jasper," I said. It wasn't a question, since I knew what he'd say.

"Of course," he said, moving to my side in a movement that was too fast for any human eyes to follow.

"Thanks," I said and headed out to the garage. I slid behind the wheel of Carlisle's Mercedes, since it was the least flashy. Jasper rubbed his temples as he got into the passenger side, fighting one of the headaches he got every now and then. I frowned, knowing the cause and that I was a part of it.

Ever since Bella died our family had been a flurry of emotions, none of them good. Edward was depressed, as was to be expected, and he spent most of his time brooding. Esme was always sobbing, feeling like she lost a member of her family. Rosalie was angry that a human had ruined our family. Emmett was upset about Bella and pouting because Rosalie wouldn't . . . well, no need to say that. Jasper was too busy trying to tune out everyone else's emotions to feel anything. Carlisle alone was calm, not because he didn't love Bella, but because he knew that there were more important things than grief.

Me, well, I felt like I was wounded beyond repair. I'd lost my best friend, almost a sister, and it was all Edward's fault. If he hadn't made us leave her she never would've been killed. We could've protected her from every human danger on earth. We could've continued living in Forks with Bella and everything would've been perfect. Okay, so I'm leaving out the threat we pose to her if we lose control, but in my mind that doesn't matter. _Stupid Edward and his logic!_ I thought as I drove down the highway.

"Sorry," I said, catching Jasper's wince from the corner of my eye. He could feel all of our emotions. All the anger and sadness and despair, and it hurt him. True, he could control emotions as well as read them, but with that many strong ones coming at him all the time, there wasn't much he could do.

"Don't worry," he said, and a wave of calm washed over me. I smiled, reveling in the void where my bad feelings used to be. When it was just me Jasper could be wonderfully soothing.

We arrived at the my favorite shopping district in New York City, much sooner than any human driving normal speed could have. I parked and then headed inside, Jasper behind me. The street was bustling with people, and the scent of blood wafted by me like perfume. It was delicious, but resistible. We hurried into the nearest store and I began to look around for clothes to try on.

Sam's P.O.V.

I stepped out of the dressing room, wearing a short black strapless dress along with my knee high boots and net tights. I turned from side to side, examining my reflection in the three mirrors. _Good thing it's just a myth that we don't show up in mirrors,_ I thought. I caught sight of a short girl in the store behind me and a blond boy standing off to the side, their skin as pale as mine. I rolled my blood red eyes as I reentered the dressing room. The chick was way to enthusiastic about shopping. I wouldn't be here if I didn't desperately need some new clothes.

I changed back into my normal clothes, a black miniskirt, gray tank top, black leather jacket, and the boots and tights from before. I picked up the clothes I'd been trying on and walked over to the cash register, dumping them on the counter for the clerk to ring up. I told her to hold on to them while I looked around some more and went over to one of the other racks. I pushed my chin-length black hair out of my face as I flipped through the clothes, unintentionally drawing closer to the perky girl and her boyfriend.

Alice's P.O.V.

I looked through the clothes, the joy of shopping overtaking my gloomy mood somewhat. It gave Jasper a little break at least. I was going through a rack of dresses when I caught the scent of another vampire nearby. I looked up and saw the source directly across the rack from me. It wasn't the fact that she was a vampire that had me gaping. It was how she looked. She looked exactly like Bella, or rather, how my visions had showed me Bella would look as a vampire.

"B-Bella?" I asked, not able to believe it. She was dead; she couldn't be standing here, but she was. I realized as I heard Jasper gasp behind me that I wasn't hallucinating. She looked at me questioningly, like she didn't recognize me. "Bella! It's me, Alice! Oh, I've missed you so much!" I said. I ran around the rack to hug her and stopped short when I saw what she was wearing. Bella had never had much style, but she'd never wear _that._ "What happened to you?!" I nearly shrieked.

"What'd you just say?!" she said.

"I don't think that's Bella," Jasper said softly, coming to stand beside me.

"What the hell are you talking about, freaks?" the girl snapped.

"That's definitely not Bella," I said.

The girl looked us over quickly, a wearing a look that suggested she was questioning our sanity. "Do you want something? Or are you just gonna stand there and gape like a fish?" she sneered. It took me a minute to recover myself and keep the wave of despair from crashing over me. I'd let myself hope that it was Bella, and realizing it wasn't was like her dying all over again. How could she look so much like her and not be her?

"Um, I'm Alice, and this is Jasper," I said, lacking anything better to say. How could I explain the whole Bella situation to a stranger? She'd never understand.

The girl rolled her crimson eyes, saying, "Whatever." She started to walk away.

"Aren't you going to tell us your name?" I asked. I was curious about this girl. I had to know if she was even the tiniest big like Bella.

"It's Sam, happy?" she said.

"Not really," I admitted.

"Well that's just too damn bad, now isn't it?" Sam snapped.

I heard Jasper growl softly and put a hand on his arm. Maybe this girl was mean and rude, but she looked too much like Bella to even think about hurting her.

"Oh, I'm so scared," she said sarcastically. She walked off again, moving to the other side of the store and not giving us another glance.

"We should—!" I started, turning to Jasper.

"No, we shouldn't," he said.

"But it could help," I told him, practically whining.

"She's not going to replace Bella, no matter how hard you try," he replied.

"We could at least give it a shot," I said, quickly checking the possible outcomes.

Jasper sighed and was quiet for awhile. "You know how it will end," he said finally.

"Yes," I said, grimacing, "but I'm willing to try it anyway."

"Then go ask her," he said motioning towards the girl.

"I don't know what you psychos are planning, but you better leave me out of it," Sam said. It wasn't loud, but we could hear her just fine. I walked over to her, using normal speed for the sake of the humans present.

"We just thought my brother would like to meet you," I said sweetly.

"Dare I ask why?" she replied.

"You look a lot like someone we used to know," I said, working to keep the strain out of my voice. She looked at me skeptically. She probably thought I was nuts. Maybe I was.

"Let me get my stuff first," she said, sounding resigned. I smiled as she went over to the counter and purchased her clothes, which I noticed were mostly blacks and grays. She seriously needed a new wardrobe, though I had to admit the goth style looked good on her.

Sam's P.O.V.

I shifted my shopping bags on my lap as the Mercedes purred, speeding me and the two weirdos, Alice and Jasper, towards the rich part of town. I'd never been in a Mercedes that wasn't stolen before. It felt strange, almost wrong. The feeling of discomfort increased as we arrived at their building and took the elevator up to the penthouse. I'd also never been in a penthouse that wasn't broken into. I hadn't been the best person in my human and early vampire life.

I followed the two in, setting my stuff by the front door. I looked around the huge apartment, which was furnished in all white, surprised by the expensive décor. I was mostly a nomad, and I didn't understand why you would want to decorate your house so completely when you might leave it before too long. My rule was, never get attached to anything you can't carry with you, including people.

"Wait here," Alice said and disappeared into another room, soon followed by Jasper. I sat down on one of the couches, acutely aware of how much my black outfit stood out among all the white.

Edward's P.O.V.

I heard voices on the first level of the penthouse and wondered who Alice and Jasper had brought home with them. I glanced over the edge of the loft and saw a girl with black hair and wearing black clothes sitting on one of the couches. It didn't matter; she was no one important. I rolled over on the bed and adjusted my headphones, letting the music drown out the sound of the rest of the family whispering downstairs. The only thing that got through was an occasional hiss from Rosalie, but that was nothing unusual.

"Edward! Can you come down here?" Carlisle called up the stairs.

"Sure," I said, though I wasn't enthusiastic about it. I turned off the music and set the headphones on the table, then dashed downstairs. "What is it?"

Then I caught sight of her. Bella. My Bella. It had to be. She was just standing there in front of the couch, looking awkward. She was the one in black that I'd seen before. How could I ever think she wasn't important? She was the most important thing in the world and she was—by some miracle—alive, and here with me. I couldn't stop myself from running over to her and scooping her up into a hug.

"What are you doing?" she asked, standing stiffly as I hugged her.

"I missed you!" I said.

"Get off me," she said, pushing me away.

"But, Bella!" was all I could manage, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Get that hand off of me before I break it," she snapped, stepping away from me.

I let go of her shoulder and stepped back as well. "I realize you're mad at me, but—" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I'm not this fucking Bella chick! I'm Sam!" she said, her voice getting louder. She looked around at all of us standing there. "You people have lost it," she sneered and walked out the front door. I stared at the members of my family, scrambling to make sense of what had just happened and failing miserably.

**Did ya like it? REVIEW!! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. I mean, if I did, why would I be on fan fiction? And don't forget: co-written by purpletea! (Yes, purple, I just HAD to put that!) Anyway… here's chapter 4!**

Sam's P.O.V

Before I had a chance to run away from Freaksville, the older blond one stopped me. "Do you mind if we can talk to you before you leave?" she asked. I decided to go and talk with him. I mean, I did want an explanation why I was attacked twice by this crazy coven. I walked back in the house to find seven vampires staring at me with confusion. Why the hell do they keep staring at me? Before I could ask the question, the bronze haired male answered it. "Sorry we keep staring at you, you just remind us of Bella." He seemed to choke on the last word.

Bella. That was a name I'd heard a lot. I wonder who the hell she-WAIT. Did that guy just read my mind? That's creepy. The guy seemed to laugh. "Yes, I can read your mind. My name is Edward, by the way."

The older blonde seemed to remember something then said, "I'm sorry, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Carlisle. This is my wife, Esme." He pointed toward the caramel-haired vampire beside him. "That's Emmett and his mate, Rosalie." He pointed toward the big guy and the blonde girl wearing an expression that said, I'm-prettier-than-you. I held back the urge to slap that look off her face. Edward seemed amused by the thought. GET OUT OF MY MIND, DAMMIT! Carlisle continued talking. "And lastly, you already know Alice, Jasper and Edward."

"And I'm Sam if you don't already know. So who's this Bella chick?" I asked with curiosity and annoyance. How could I not be annoyed when people keep calling me Bella?

"Well," started Carlisle after a long silence. "Bella was Edward's mate, except she was human. They fell in love but after some things happened," he glanced at Jasper and Jasper looked down in shame, "we decided it was best if we leave. She died only months after that. That was ten years ago, and now when Alice saw you, she thought you were Bella because you look so much like her."

I stared at all of them. Why did they bring me here? To replace this Bella girl? That was never going to happen. Didn't they say that this was ten years ago? That was plenty of time to grieve, so why not just get over it and move on? Edward got mad at these thoughts. "What do you mean 'get over it'? It's none of your business if we're over it or not!" He was having a temper tantrum like a five-year old.

"And it's none of your business to be snooping in my mind," I countered. "So as I thought before, GET OUT OF MY MIND, DAMMIT!"

"So," Alice said in attempt to change the conversation. She looked at Carlisle and asked "Can she live here?" He nodded. "Do you want to stay and live here with us?" She was literally jumping up and down in a way that even _I _can't say no to, even though I didn't want to stay.

"I'll think about it," was all I said.

"Do you like shopping?" Alice said randomly after a long pause. The whole room groaned at the question.

"Yes, I like shopping, but I don't think I would like shopping with you very much." It was true. She looked like the kind of girl who runs around in those preppy shops for hours. That's not my style' black is.

Alice's eyes showed disappointment, but I didn't care. "Well then, maybe we could go hunting?" she tried. That's the first time I noticed their golden eyes. How are having golden eyes possible?

"We hunt animals. That's what makes our eyes gold," Edward answered the question that I thought. That was getting annoying.

"Animal blood? How does that work?" I wondered. I am a very curious person and the whole animal blood thing was intriguing.

"We live among the humans and hunt animals in the mountains and woods. We are still temped by the human blood but we control ourselves around them," he explained.

"As delicious as that sounds," I said sarcastically, "I think I'm going to stick to human blood. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm going to go now." I started to walk away.

"You can't do it," sneered the snobby-looking blonde, Rosalie. I stopped and turned around to glare at her.

"What?"

"You heard me. I said you can't do it. You're too weak to resist the temptation of human blood." She was making pissing me off. She doesn't know me or how determined I am. As a human, I was always determined to do things that were different, which usually broke the law. I am naturally determined to do anything difficult or dangerous, just to prove I can. I was going to prove this conceited bitch wrong.

"Just for that, I'll give it a shot! And stop looking at me like that," I said. I stormed up to Rosalie and slapped her across the face. She gave me an 'if-looks-could-kill' glare and stalked away.

"So you're going to stay?" asked Alice in an excited tone.

"Sure, I gue-" Alice tackled me into a hug before I could finish. Why the hell did I agree to this?

**1 Year Later**.

One year I've been stuck with these people. I still question why I stay here. I normally don't hang out with the family that much, but they are really nice to me. I'm just rude because of my power to be a natural sarcastic smart-ass. Not that being smart-assey is a bad thing in my mind. I normally avoid the whole family, especially Rosalie, unless we're going hunting.

Right know I was packing the little that I own, even though we still had a month before we move. The others have decided to move because they've lived in the outskirts of NYC for a couple of years, not like anyone in NYC would actually care enough to notice. We were thinking of leaving in a month or so for Boston. I might leave after a year or so in Boston because I honestly can't stand these people. This is some screwed up family and it's all Bella's fault.

"SAM!" yelled Alice from across the house. Oh, great. What does the pixie want of me now? I ran vampire speed to find the whole family standing in the living room. Alice was grinning hugely at me. "It's been exactly one year since you've moved in with us so I talked the whole family in going out and shopping in New York City!" I groaned. This wasn't an anniversary for my moving in, it was torture.

The Cullens and I walked down the sidewalk of NYC and into a gigantic mall. The only one who seemed anywhere near happy was Alice.

After hours of shopping, we finally got Alice to agree to go home. On the way out of the mall we crossed a group of five or six nomads. I could tell they didn't travel together but when nomads happen to cross each other, they usually hang out with each other for a couple of days. It wasn't abnormal to see other vampires in a big city like NYC, but Alice wanted to go talk to them.

"Come on guys! Let's go say hi! PLEASE!!" Alice begged. Everybody shook their heads, not in the mood to socialize with vampires. They were never in the mood to do anything.

"I would rather go back to the house and finish packing for Boston," I commented.

"But we don't leave for a month!" protested Alice.

"I don't care!" I walked off and everyone followed, even Alice.

Victoria's P.O.V

I walked into the mall with some nomads I had run into earlier. Out of all the nomads I happen to know, this group was one of my favorites. I smelt vampires to my right and looked over to see the Cullens. Anger flared in me. _These are the people who killed my James._

The vegetarians seemed to notice the group vampires, but didn't notice it was me in that group. I looked to see Bella in the group. _She's a vampire! I thought she was dead! _I couldn't believe she was one of them. I had to find revenge, and needed it now.

"Come on guys! Let's go say hi! PLEASE!!" I overheard the Pixie beg. The other Cullens shook their heads. I was displeased they wouldn't come over so I wouldn't be able to pick a fight with them

"I would rather go back to the house and finish packing for Boston." Bella said. So they are going to Boston? Good to know for the future.

"But we don't leave for a month!" protested the Pixie. Her name is something that's not important enough to learn.

"I don't care!" Bella shot back, walking off and everyone followed, even Alice. This didn't seem like the quiet Bella I had once met, but maybe being a vampire changed her attitude.

After taking some humans from the mall and drinking them in an alley across the street, I said farewell to my friends. Only Lucy actually knew I was planning to attack the Cullens because of Edward and his stupid mate. I probably shouldn't have told her since she was a blabber mouth and loved gossip, but oh well, can't change the past.

I was thinking of maybe waiting till they are hunting in Boston. Good thing their forest are bigger then the ones here in New York. Somehow get Bella away from the Cullens and attack her. A mate for a mate. When someone goes looking for her, I would kill them too since they'll probably split up and I'll only have to deal with two of them at the most. And then the rest will come and I'll probably run away. I can't fight more than four vampires at once. I'll just have to figure a way to get rid of them some other way.

The plan was still shaky, and I needed to think some more, but I couldn't observe the Cullens without them getting suspicious. For now I would just go to Boston and wait for them there.

**Please Review!!!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry we haven't updated in so long! School just started about a week ago and we've already got too much homework. High school just sucks like that. Thanks for all the good reviews we've gotten so far!**

Bella's P.O.V.

I looked around at the small group of female nomads, trying to decide which of them had the best gossip. The one I was listening to now had nothing to say but how atrocious one member of her coven had looked the other day. I didn't know how she could say that. Vampires were always beautiful, no matter what we were. I had no doubt that I could walk down the street in the most hideous outfit in the world and still look like a model to every human I passed.

I wasn't big on gossip myself, but it was just something nomad's liked to do when they got together. It did keep me up to date on the current events of the vampire world, however. If not for my chance meetings with other nomads, I wouldn't have a clue what was going on, since I spent most of my time in the forests, where my food would be more readily available.

I knew that was backwards for most vampires, but I guess I wasn't like most vampires. I had started preying on animals about a two years after I'd become a vampire. At first I'd rejected the lifestyle, simply because I didn't want to be like the Cullens. Then one day I took a look in the mirror and realized what I'd become. I realized I didn't like being a monster, shamelessly killing humans whenever I needed to feed. I realized I was losing myself, something I'd always feared when I'd envisioned myself as a vampire, back when _he_ was still around.

"What did you just say?" I asked the vampire in front of me, a short girl with ultra-curly dyed- blonde hair. I hadn't been paying very close attention to her babble, but I could've sworn she'd just mentioned the Cullens.

"I'm worried about my friend Victoria," she repeated, "She's planning on attacking the Cullens."

"Why?" I asked. I knew Edward and his brothers had killed Victoria's mate, James, but that was over ten years ago. Did she really hold a grudge that long? Or was there some other reason?

"She's got some sort of issue with Edward's mate," the girl said, "I dunno why exactly."

I was sure that if my heart still worked it would've stopped beating right then and there. Edward had a mate. He'd found someone else. He'd probably forgotten all about me, and that hurt more than him leaving. I knew it was ridiculous for me to think that he wouldn't move on. He probably thought I was dead, and besides, it'd been nearly fifteen years since I saw him last. I knew it was stupid to think I still had some kind of claim to him, but it still hurt to know I'd been replaced.

"So she's just going to try to kill this girl? Edward's mate?" I clarified.

"No, I think she's going to attack the whole coven, which is why I'm worried," the blonde said, "Do you know how many people they have?"

"A lot?" I said, making it sound like a guess. I didn't want to seem like I knew too much about the Cullens.

"Like eight. One of them doesn't really fight, but still . . ." she trailed off.

"The odds aren't good," I finished for her.

"Exactly!" the girl said, voice growing higher with anxiety. I tuned out the rest of her babbling and began to think about the Cullens, something I usually avoided at all costs. If Victoria attacked them she wouldn't stand a chance. I tried to tell myself that, but a worried voice in the back of my head kept saying that she had the advantage. They didn't know she was coming. They didn't have a defense planned. If she was half as tricky as James had been, she just might get to them.

Then came the hard part, figuring out what I would do about it. Sure Edward had left me. Sure I hated them all for abandoning me. Sure I was majorly pissed that I'd been replaced. I didn't, however, want any of them dead. As much as I hated Edward, I didn't want to see him dead, or rather, to see his ashes on a pyre with a happy Victoria standing over them. And what about little Alice? And caring, motherly Esme? And big stupid loveable Emmett? I had to protect them somehow.

My options were limited, that was for sure. I could warn them, but that involved actually seeing them, and possibly this new girl. That wasn't going to happen. I could find better ways to torture myself than by talking to the Cullens. The only other option was to take out Victoria myself, before she had the chance to get to the Cullens. I asked the blonde when Victoria was planning to attack. Her answer wasn't sure, but it was enough to work with. I said a quick good bye and then raced off to find out where the Cullens were living.

~a few days later~

I crouched in the bushes around the clearing, waiting for Victoria. I knew this was where she was planning to wait for the Cullens, who would be out hunting around this time. I could only pray that I would be able to take care of her and get out of here before they arrived. It didn't think I could handle a run-in with them, that is, if I survived the fight with Victoria. I had the upper hand with my shields, but she was the more skilled fighter.

I peered through the foliage, checking if she'd entered the clearing, but she wasn't there. Of course she would stay hidden until she saw one of the Cullens. I would have to draw her out. I stepped out of the bushes into plain sight and walked to the center of the clearing. I waited, my invisible shield around me, keeping out everything unwanted. She would know I wasn't one of them, but I hoped she'd be surprised into attacking, or at the very least revealing herself. A few moments later an all too familiar red-haired figure stepped out of the trees in front of me.

"Hello Bella, what a surprise seeing you here," Victoria said, her voice pleasant, but with a deadly undertone.

"You're here to attack the Cullens," I said. It wasn't a question.

"No, I'm here to attack you, to steal Edward's mate as he stole mine," she said, her feline form melting into a fighting stance. Her words caught me off guard. How could she think I was Edward's mate? Had she not seen him with the new girl? It didn't matter. She would be dead before the Cullens arrived to clarify.

"I'm not Edward's mate," I croaked, just for the sake of argument.

"Don't lie to me," she hissed. She lunged at me, teeth bared and a snarl ripping from her throat. She collided with my shield and fell back, stunned. She shook her head, trying to see the invisible force field that kept her from touching me. My shield was wonderful defense, but I would have to drop it to attack her.

"I see you've gotten some new abilities since the last time we met," she said, a wicked grin dancing about her lips. I gritted my teeth and said nothing. Now wasn't the time for talking. I had to finish this as quickly as possible.

I pushed my shield out so that it smacked into her and she was knocked down. Victoria growled, not liking that she was fighting something she couldn't see. She circled around me a few times, lunging at random intervals, but my shield was an impenetrable dome. I created one solid wall of shield and sent it at her, so that she was smashed up against another wall of shield. She was sandwiched between the invisible walls so that she couldn't move, and only her head was free. I approached her, dropping my own personal shield, and placed my hands on either side of her head. I was about to rip it off of her body when a voice rang out through the clearing.

"Bella?" it said, sounding incredulous. I didn't look at the source of the voice; afraid of whom I would see.

"Just a sec," I called back, still looking at Victoria. I quickly finished ripping the red-head to pieces then piled them up on the ground. I pulled out a small lighter and set them on fire.

"Bella?" the voice called again. I stared at the flames, unwilling to turn and see _him_, the one who had caused me so much pain.

Then another voice joined it. "Is that really you Bella?" the pixie-like voice said. I couldn't help but face them then.

"Yeah, it's me," I muttered, turning to find all seven of the Cullens standing there, along with a stranger. At least, she might've been a stranger if she didn't look exactly like me.

"Whoa," the new girl and I said simultaneously. No wonder Victoria had thought Edward and I were still together. I was distracted from my look-a-like by Edward himself, who was racing towards me. I extended my shield to a dome with walls about five feet from where I stood at the center. Edward, unsuspecting of my new powers, slammed right into it. His joyful expression turned to one of confusion and then hurt.

"Stay away from me," I growled, reinforcing my shield to make it extra thick.

"But, Bella, it's me, Edward," he said.

"I know who you are," I said coolly, "That doesn't mean I want you near me."

"I'm so sorry I left you, I'll never forgive myself for that!" he said, his velvety voice almost whining.

"But you'll just replace me no problem?" I snapped, nodding towards the look-a-like.

"What? No, that's Sam, we're not . . . she's just . . ." he stammered at a loss for what to say. I continued to glare.

"Sam is just a friend," Alice said, dancing up to stand beside Edward. She too tried to hug me, but my shield was still firmly in place.

"Whatever, I'm not in the mood for this," I said, and started to turn away.

"Wait!" Alice called, "At least explain what Victoria was doing here!"

If it had been Edward who asked I would've kept walking, but I could say no to Alice. "She was here to attack you, well, Sam I guess, because she wanted revenge for you guys killing James," I said quickly. I looked at the rest of the Cullens and the girl, Sam, who were all being strangely silent. Rosalie was glaring, big shocker there. Emmett was looking confused. Jasper looked like he was in pain, again, big shocker. With all these frantic emotions swirling around, he couldn't be feeling well. Carlisle was unreadable, and Sam just looked pissed.

"So you killed her?" Edward asked, his expression somewhere between impressed and scared.

"Pretty much," I said. No one said anything for awhile after that, and I grew more and more uncomfortable as the silence stretched on. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. "If you're done with the questions, I'm out of here," I said and once more turned to leave.

"Wait!" called a voice I didn't recognize. I looked back to see Sam stepping towards me. "Can I come with you?" she asked.

"Why?" I asked, more shocked than I'd been when I first saw her.

"These people are way too messed up," she said simply, sounding as if she didn't care whether that insulted them or not.

Surprised as I was, I had to agree with her. I felt bad for her, caught up in this drama she was never a part of. I could imagine how all this looked to an outsider like her. "Sure, come on," I said and took off into the forest. She caught up with me and we ran, never once looking back.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all our reviewers. It makes me happy to say we've only got good comments so far, so thanks again! As requested, here is Edward's P.O.V. on the scene in the clearing. Hope you enjoy!**

**Chapter 6**

Edward's POV

We were out hunting in Boston, our new home. I was in the middle of sucking the life out of a deer when Alice got a vision.

_Bella, the real Bella, ripping of the head off Victoria. _

I ran faster than I ever had in my life while Alice told the others what she just saw. This time it was the real Bella. My Bella. I was sure of it.

Victoria was trapped in between two invisible walls and couldn't move, no matter how many times she struggled. Bella was beside her with her hands on either side of her head, ready to rip Victoria's head off.

"Bella?" I called incredulously. My Bella was never the violent type of person. Was this really her? Could this be another Sam? God forbid, I don't need another Sam!

"Just a sec," said Bella, not turning to look at me. She ripped the pieces of Victoria to the ground and lit them on fire.

"Bella?" I called again. She knew I was there, but wouldn't turn to see me. I heard noises around me, which means my family just got here. Their thoughts of happiness and disbelief rang through my head, but I ignored them and kept my eyes on Bella.

"Is that really you Bella?" Alice said. Bella turned around then. I felt a twinge of jealousy towards Alice. She can get Bella to look at them, but I can't?

"Yeah, it's me," she muttered quietly, as if she wished she wasn't Bella at the moment. Did she hate us that much? I noticed her looking at Sam.

"Whoa," the girls that could be twins said simultaneously. As Bella looked at Sam, lost in thoughts, I couldn't take it anymore. My Bella was alive! I ran gleefully towards her to give her a hug, but slammed into an invisible wall. This must be Bella's power. I felt pain, physically and emotionally, run through my body.

"Stay away from me," she growled at me. She must not remember who I am, because Bella would never do this to me.

"But, Bella, it's me, Edward," I said, seeing if she would remember me now.

"I know who you are," she said coolly, "That doesn't mean I want you near me."

More pain went trough me, enough to make Jasper wince. Thoughts ran through my mind.

_Dude, you just got rejected! _-Emmett. I'd kill him for that later.

_Serves you right for leaving her! _-Alice. Yup, she still hates me.

_My poor daughter! _-Carlisle and Esme. Good to know they feel sorry for their daughter and not their son.

_Can we get this reunion over with? I miss my mirror! _-Rosalie. Stupid vain chick.

_Ha-ha. She hates you!_ -Sam. She enjoyed taunting me, but I ignored her.

_Ow. _–Jasper. I tried to calm my emotions for his sake. Didn't help.

"I'm so sorry I left you, I'll never forgive myself for that!" I pleaded for her to understand.

"But you'll just replace me no problem?" she snapped, with a sharp nod in Sam's direction. If the situation wasn't as tense as it was, I would have laughed at the idea. Me and Sam? HA!

"What? No, that's Sam, we're not . . . she's just . . ." I stammered, trying to explain. I didn't know how to say what I wanted to say. 'Sam's just a pain in the butt that lives with us and hates us,' would have worked, but I couldn't think under the evil glare my Bella was giving me.

"Sam is just a friend," Alice said, who I didn't realize had walked, or danced, up to stand beside me. I would thank her for the help later. She attempted to hug Bella like I had, but whatever blocked me blocked her also.

"Whatever, I'm not in the mood for this," Bella said while turning away.

"Wait!" Alice called before I could, "At least explain what Victoria was doing here!"

Bella seemed to ponder the idea of talking to us, but decided to tell us anyway. "She was here to attack you, well, Sam I guess, because she wanted revenge for you guys killing James," she said as if she wanted to leave as soon as she can.

_What's with her, thinking she can come and save us from Victoria. We don't need her to help!_ -Rosalie. She really irks me.

_Why would she save us if she obviously hates us?_ -Emmett. Good question, Emmett!

_If she saved us, that means she still loves us! She loves us! She loves us! Maybe we can go shopping tomorrow?_ -Alice. Of course Alice has to think of shopping at a time like this.

_How sweet of her to save us_. –Carlisle.

_I hope Bella didn't get hurt by Victoria. She doesn't look hurt_. –Esme. Is she hurt?

_This Victoria chick was going to attack me? What the hell did I ever do? Damn, it's all these weirdoes' faults! Why do I live with them again?_ -Sam. Yes, Sam, why do you live with us?

_Ow. These emotions are going to kill me one day._ –Jasper. Poor Jasper.

"So you killed her?" I asked. I was impressed that Bella was able to kill her, but scared that my poor Bella had become a monster.

"Pretty much," she said as if it was no big deal. Silence grew and no body said anything. "If you're done with the questions, I'm out of here," Bella finally said and turned to leave again.

"Wait!" called Sam. I was surprised that she didn't make any sarcastic comment the whole time. "Can I come with you?" she asked, shocking the whole family.

"Why?" Bella asked in shock as well.

"These people are way too messed up," she said simply, insulting us like usual. She was right; our family has been messed up without Bella.

Bella agreed. Poor Bella didn't know what she was getting herself into. "Sure, come on," she said and ran into the forest before we could ask anymore questions like _how the hell did you become a vampire and who did it to you so I can go rip their throat out? _Sam ran after Bella and they were both gone before we could even get a chance to run after them.

Five Years Later **(A/N: Sorry we've been skipping around a lot lately.)**

Bella. Bella's alive. That's all I could think for the last five years. Bella is alive; we can all be a family again.

But no, she ran away with Sam. Sam of all people! She doesn't want our family; she doesn't want me.

I did keep hope, though. Jasper and his awesome power told me that among all the hatred Bella felt, she felt love. That's a good thing, right?

The last five years, our family has been better. We are all still depressed about Bella, much to Jasper's disappointment, but as long as Bella's alive, we are happy. Alice shops everyday now and Emmett jokes around again. Jasper hangs out with the family now that the emotions are better and Rosalie isn't pissed anymore. Esme doesn't dry sob anymore, or at least that's what the family thinks.

The last couple of years, we've been searching for Bella and Sam, but we never seem to find them. Rosalie kept saying that if they didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be. Sadly, she seems to be right.

We decided that we would go back to school in Wisconsin for awhile to take a break from our search. We haven't been to high school in a while, so we figured it was a good idea.

What's worse than another two years in the hell of high school is that Alice has been blocking her thoughts. That's never a good sign. What if she's planning to take me shopping and dressing Emmett and me up in girl's clothes again? Or what if she played a prank on me by disassembling my car again? Or what if she replaced my classical music with Brittany Spears again? Wait, no that was Emmett. Oh god, I'm starting to become paranoid now!

Bella's POV

I must say, the last five years have been some of the best of my life. Sam is my best friend, even though she can be rude and annoying.

She told me some stories about her year with the Cullen's. I do feel a little bit guilty for being the one who ruined their family, but its payback for ruining my life.

We've been working on our diets a lot lately. You would think I wasn't as temped to human blood as much as Sam because I've been a vegetarian longer then she has, but surprisingly, her determination makes her less temped to the blood. We've decided to put it to the test by going back to school.

We are going to a school in Wisconsin. Apparently, Sam's always wanted to go to Wisconsin. She was obsessed with cheese as a human.

Anyway, that's why we are headed down the road, going 100 mph (I like speed now) singing random songs on the radio out of key. I know, we are vampires and have musical voices and all, but what's the fun of singing to the radio in key? Singing out of key is so much more fun!

It was the first day of school for everyone because it was a new year. We were twins in junior year, how fun is that? We already got our schedules before the school year started and sadly found out that we only have two classes together, English and math.

We pulled into the school parking lot, almost running over three students, and jumped out of the car. A lot of people were staring at us, no shocker there. I wore a pair of dark jeans, and a boring t-shirt. I didn't want to wear anything that would attract more attention to me.

Sam, on the other hand, wanted the attention. She wore a neon blue cheetah print tank top with a long sleeve black shirt under it. Her jeans were cut off at the knee and had holes over them. She wore tights with rainbow colored skulls under her jeans and long converse boots with zebra stripes on them. Her goal to get attention was definitely accomplished.

I realized that the other half of people that weren't staring at us was staring at another group of kids. Sam noticed this before I did.

"Oh great, they're stalking us," she muttered under her breath. I looked where she was looking. It was the Cullen's, of all people. Fate sucks, doesn't it? They were all facing the other way, still oblivious to the fact that we were here. Alice probably had a vision and was blocking Edward out of her mind because she had a thumbs up behind her back.

"Damn!" I cursed a little too loudly. It was loud enough for their vampire ears to pick it up and they all whipped around to look at Sam and me.

"Good job, moron, you got their attention," Sam said sarcastically.

I didn't respond because my eyes couldn't look away from the topaz eyes that met mine at least 50 feet away. The bell had rung and Sam had left, but I was still frozen in place.

Unfortunately, even across a high school parking lot, Edward Cullen can still dazzle me. Talk about pathetic.

**So what do you think? I loved writing the other people's thoughts in Edward's point of view. :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**Discliamer: I don't own Twilight, blah blah blah. Do I really have to put this every chapter? I mean, I'm pretty sure you get the message. And by the way, sorry it took soooo long to post, but Fan Fiction was being weird and stuff.**

Bella's P.O.V.

"Forget them, Bella, we've got to get to class," Sam said beside me. Edward heard her, though whether he was hearing her thoughts or her words I wasn't sure. Either way, he glared at her, and I couldn't help but grin. I'd almost forgotten how much Sam had gotten on Edward's nerves while she was living with the Cullens.

"Yeah, let's go," I said, looping my arm through Sam's as we headed for the school building. We walked down hall and I smiled at all the looks we got. Some were the usual gaping, while others were clearly wondering what in the world Sam was wearing. I thought she looked cute; the outfit was totally her style. We had to part ways soon, considering our different schedules. I walked into my first class, and groaned, loudly enough for the whole class to hear me. Sitting there, next to the only empty seat left, was Edward Cullen.

"Bella!" he called happily. He stood up and quickly crossed the room to give me a hug. I stood there stiffly and refused to hug him back, but that was as much as I could do with all these humans watching.

"Get off of me," I growled, this time low enough that only he could hear. He let go, looking hurt as he sat down. I sighed and slid into the desk next to him, hating that I had a class with him. He started to say something but at that moment the teacher walked in and began talking about the rules and such. I smiled, already liking the teacher just for saving me from listening to Edward.

About halfway through the period Edward slid a note onto my desk, timing it perfectly so that the teacher wouldn't see. I glared at the little piece of paper, folded carefully, intending to not even open it. However, after a few minutes my curiosity got the better of me. I had to know what he what he could possibly come up with to maybe change my mind about him. I unfolded the paper, smoothing out the creases before looking at the words printed there in his elegant script.

_I'm sorry, for everything._

I snorted at the four little words, so inadequate. I knew he didn't mean just for hugging me. He was trying to apologize for all the hurt he'd caused me, all the pain, and I wasn't buying it. It was going to take a lot more than that for me to forgive him.

_Sorry isn't fucking good enough._

I scribbled my reply quickly, and then realized that it was something Sam would say. It was the truth, but it sounded too mean said that way. I quickly went back and scratched out part of it.

_Sorry isn't ------- good enough._

I sighed as I looked down at my edited message, but folded it up and handed it back to him anyway. I heard him chuckle at first when he saw the scribble, but then his face fell when he realized what the message actually said. He wrote something down and passed the paper back.

_I'll make it up to you._

I glared at the words. He could never make it up to me, no matter how hard he tried. If he spent the rest of his eternal life trying to get me to forgive him, it would never happen. This was mostly because I wouldn't let him. I wasn't going to just stand by while he threw himself all over me, trying to earn my forgiveness. It would be way to annoying. If he didn't knock this off soon Sam and I were out of here, and I would go to extra measures to ensure that I never came face-to-face with Edward Cullen again.

_Like hell you will._

I realized once more that I sounded like Sam. She was rubbing off on me, and I didn't see this as a good thing. I scribbled out my error and wrote something new.

_------------------._

_No, you won't._

I passed it back, and this time he had no reply. I studiously ignored him for the rest of the class, keeping my eyes straight ahead. When the bell finally rang I bolted before he got the chance to stop me. I smiled a little in spite of myself. Now that I was a vampire he couldn't get the best of me, not physically at least. I remembered how he'd dazzled me in the parking lot, and it scared me. I'd thought I was over him. I'd thought that all I would be feeling when I looked at him was anger. Truthfully I wished that was all I felt. Anger, hatred, those were emotions I recognized and was familiar with. This knew feeling was something I hadn't known in a long time and they were barely a part of me before now.

"Hey!" Sam called as I walked into my next class, which we thankfully had together.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound cheerful, but she caught on to my expression.

"Lemme guess, one of _them_ was in your first class," she said, and I merely nodded. "Which one was it? The overly perky chick, or the bitchy blonde?" she asked now.

"Neither," I replied, hating how I felt a twinge of anger when she said that about Alice, "It was Edward."

"Oooo, that's gotta suck some major—"

"Sam!"

"What?!"

"Tone it down a bit," I said simply and we finally took our seats. Over the past five years I'd grown accustomed to Sam's bold personality, but she still had the ability to shock me. I remembered a conversation we'd had awhile back.

"_You're power is so cool," Sam said, after I'd finished the exercises I did to keep my shield strong, "I wish I had something like that."_

"_You don't seem like someone who'd care about a power," I blurted before I could think. That was something about Sam. She always compelled me to say exactly what I thought, when I thought it, probably because she did the same._

_She shrugged as she replied, "I just think it'd be nice to have something that makes you special."_

"_Well, maybe you have a power and you just don't know it," I suggested._

_I could see the doubt in her eyes as she said, "Like what?"_

_I had to think for a minute, recalling all the things that Sam did well. "Super smart-assery skills?" I offered up. She laughed, but I could see that she liked the idea of that._

I tried to stay focused on the class and not think about Edward and the rest of the Cullens. When it came down to it, there shouldn't have been any question about it. I hated Edward, and while I didn't hate the rest of them as strongly, I wasn't prepared to let them back in my life. _But do I really?_ I found myself thinking.

Sam noticed that I looked worried, and so did her best to distract me. We got a few dirty looks from the teacher, but then Sam's day wasn't complete unless she pissed someone off. I hoped that if she got it out of her system now she could follow my lead and ignore the Cullens when lunch finally came around. I was sadly mistaken. When we walked into the cafeteria, carrying two paper bags that were supposed to be our lunches, she immediately looked at the Cullens' table before turning to grin at me devilishly.

"I know that look, and we're not going over there to piss them off," I said. I didn't have to read minds to know what Sam was thinking.

"Aww, come on, it'd be fun," she said, smirking at Edward, who was watching us across the cafeteria. He winced, which meant Sam was thinking something either really cruel or really dirty. Knowing her, it was probably both.

"No!" I said firmly and perhaps a little too loudly, as a few humans turned around to look at me. I walked over to an empty table, as far away from the Cullens as the little cafeteria allowed, and sat down with my "lunch" in front of me. After a few moments of looking longingly over at their table, Sam followed me, pouting.

"You never let me do anything," she said, like I was her mom. For a minute we just looked at each other, and then we burst into laughter.

I looked down at the paper bags before us, so much different than the untouched trays of food sitting in front of each of the Cullens. When we were planning our return to school I'd figured that if we brought our lunch from home it was less noticeable that we didn't eat it. Plus we weren't so rich that it was okay to pay every single day for a lunch that was never touched. So we each got a bottle of water in a plain brown paper bag with a bunch of napkins stuffed down inside of it to make it look like it was full. We pulled out our waters and unscrewed the caps, but didn't make a move to drink them.

"Shut up," I told Sam a few minutes later, when I caught her making faces at the Cullens' table again.

"But I didn't say anything," she said, a sarcastically sweet smile glued on her face. I glared, but kept quiet, that is until I saw her doing it again a few moments later. I reached over and whacked upside the head. I hoped no one had noticed how there had been a loud clunking noise when my hand collided with her head. "Ow!" she protested, rubbing her head, though I hadn't hit her hard enough for it to really hurt.

"That's for thinking it," I said. She opened her mouth like she would add something else, but no words came out, and she fell quiet. After a few minutes we began talking about plans for the apartment we'd rented, the horror movie we'd seen the week before, and how it was impossible to find a store that stocked decent goth ware (this last one was mostly just Sam ranting). It was our normal conversation, our routine, and the Cullens were all but forgotten.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period, we stood up and joined the masses of people trying to squeeze through the cafeteria's two exits. When we got out into the hallway I felt a familiar presence behind me, and I turned to see Edward Cullen standing about three feet from me. _Damn,_ I thought. I couldn't see his family, but that didn't mean they weren't out there somewhere, watching. Sam came to stand beside me, her arms folded across her chest, one hip jutting out to the side, and her face set in an all-too-familiar look, which was somewhere between a glare and a pout. She was in full-on smart-ass mode, with a dash of stubbornness thrown in for good measure. I could already see snarky comments forming in her mind, and apparently so could Edward, because he winced.

"Sam," I said quietly, but I couldn't continue. I didn't know what I wanted her to do. It felt like I should be telling her to knock it off, but another part of me wanted her to chase him away. I couldn't tell which part was stronger, so I kept quiet, letting her name hang in the awkward silence.

I mean, it wasn't really silent, as there were humans rushing by on either side of us, laughing and calling out to each other. None of them seemed to matter though. I could still smell their blood wafting around us like the most seductive cologne, and I could still feel the occasional body bumping into me, but it all faded to the back of my mind. All that mattered was here and now. This one little bubble of time and space that enclosed Sam, Edward, and me. None of us spoke, and the silence was intense, but I couldn't bring myself to be the one to break it.

"We need to talk," Edward said finally. It was such a standard line, such an unoriginal choice when people either broke up or got back together. Was that really what we'd done though? Broken up? And what did Edward want us to be now? Back together? More importantly, what did I want us to be? That was a confusing question, not to mention a dangerous one. More than anything I'd ever faced, I fear the answer to that question.

"Now's not exactly the best time," I told him, taking care to make sure my gaze remained steely.

"Why not?" he asked.

As if I was Jasper, I could feel the annoyance rolling off of Sam. "Hello! There's like a hundred fucking normals around," Sam said, using the word we'd come up with for discussing humans without their noticing. We'd started using it back when we were both a bit shaky on the veggie lifestyle, but even as our self-control strengthened the term stuck. I saw the comprehension cross Edward's face as he read the definition in Sam's mind.

"You run away from me any other time," he said, "Now's my only chance."

"Don't think I won't bolt at top speed through a crowd of normals," I told him, "I've done it before."

"Then how come you're not running yet?" he asked, his eyes challenging. I glared back at him steadily. He was starting to piss me off.

"None of your damned business," I said. I could feel myself sliding into a position that mirrored Sam's, and for two seconds I wondered if we wore the same clothes anyone would be able to tell us apart.

"Look, I just want to say, I shouldn't have left," he started.

"And you're sorry?" I said sourly. He nodded vigorously, until he caught on to my expression. Then he wore a confused look. He wasn't used to not being ahead of the game, and that gave me some weird satisfaction. "Well I've had enough of you stupid sorry's," I said, "Since that seems to be all you've got these days."

"Oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhh," someone said, like the noise they make on T.V. when a person gets dissed badly. The voice came from a ways away, and I wouldn't have heard it if not for my vampire senses. I couldn't see the source of it, but I suspected Emmett.

"W-What?" Edward asked, caught between looking incredulously at me and glaring over his shoulder at his brother.

"You heard me," I said.

"I-I don't understand," he said now, though I thought he did really.

"You've told me you're sorry. You've said you'll never forgive yourself for leaving. What you haven't told me is _why_ Edward. Why the hell did you leave in the first place?" I said, my tone still artic.

"I did it to protect you!" he said, voice rising the slightest bit.

"Protect me?! Yeah right! After you left the gangsters got me!" I yelled back, ignoring the stares a few passing humans threw my way.

"That wasn't my fault!" he protested.

"Yes it was! You're the one who made me this way!" I shouted, gesturing towards my perfect body.

"You just said the gangsters did that!" Edward replied.

"If you'd been there with me they never would've come near me at all!" I said.

"As I recall, this used to be what you wanted!" he returned angrily. Leave it to Edward to use my dreams against me, my silly human dreams from twenty years ago no less.

"That was before I realized I'd be alone," I said. My volume had dropped ever-so-slightly, but not enough to be called normal talking.

"You wouldn't have been, I would've been there,"

"No you wouldn't,"

"Yes I would! I would've done it myself if they didn't beat me to it,"

"But you still left!"

"I'm sorry,"

"Stop saying that!" I shrieked. Suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Sam, somewhere between worry and laughter.

"Maybe you two should continue this some other time," she muttered, nodding towards the crowd that had begun to gather around us. They were all humans, except for the glimpse I caught of Alice and Jasper. Alice looked almost happy, Jasper was clearly in pain, and all the humans merely looked confused. Before anyone could say anything else I bolted, running at human speed for the nearest exit. I got out into the parking lot and picked up speed, running faster and faster, going nowhere in particular.

**OK, just so you know, when Bella and Edward are passing notes, the ------------- means Bella scribbled out what she had previously wrote. Sorry it looks weird and all, but that was the best I could do. Please review? :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. So here's the next chapter.**

Bella's POV

By the time I stopped running, I was in the southern coasts of Greenland. I collapsed on the ground, and laid there for a second to catch my un-needed breath. I pulled out my cell phone. It was 8:30 in the morning, the next day, in Wisconsin. Sam had probably gone to school, just to prove that she can control herself even if I'm not there. _186 missed messages. _Sam was the one who called in all of them, obviously not giving up until her hands started to hurt, or her phone broke.

I called her. I thought that Sam was smart enough to turn off her phone during school hours, so I was just going to leave a message for her to listen to later. I over-estimated Sam's smartness.

Sam's POV

Bella hadn't come home last night, and I was worried about her. I had tried to call her, but see wouldn't answer. I finally stopped calling and went to school. _Sam, look at you! You are NOT the kind of person to worry about others. What the hell has happened to you? Bella's probably fine, so there's no need to worry, _my selfish inner conscious told me. Edward's head snapped in my direction.

I was in the school parking lot, headed towards class. He must have heard my thoughts because he ran, human speed, my way. The rest of the Cullens followed him.

"What's wrong with Bella?" asked Edward. I glared at him.

"You should know, mind reader. It's your entire fault Bella ran away!" I said angrily.

Jasper looked at me funny. "Your emotions say you're worried, but that makes no sense because the Sam I knew a couple years ago would never be worried for someone else." Well there goes all that hard work trying to convince myself that I wasn't worried.

"I'm not worried!" I said, in denial. Face it, I, Sam Adams-Swan, am worried for another being. What has the world come to, now-a-days?

I ran away before they could comment, or worry over Bella, themselves, and went to first block. I had the big one, Emmett, in my class.

My teacher, Mrs. Mimps, droned on and on about stuff, and no one listened. She could me a spawn of the devil, her rambling a new and unusually cruel way to torture the poor souls of this hell called school. It was Indonesian 2. I don't know why I chose to learn the language of Indonesian, something different, and apparently the whole class was asking themselves the same question. My phone started to ring, playing a very fast paced, heavy metal song.

"BELLA! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" I screamed when answering the phone, not caring the whole class was staring at me. Mrs. Mimps was about to say something, while glaring at me, but I cut her off. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Mimps, but I really need to take this, its quite urgent. My sister ran away, and being the loving sister that I am-" I heard Emmett laughing at that, so I finished off my sentence directed to him- "I wouldn't leave her when she needed me." He stopped laughing. Mrs. Mimps nodded sharply, but still glared, letting me know I was still going to get a detention for this.

Bella heard what I said. "OK, whichever Cullen you were torturing with that line, good one," she commented. All my classmates were watching me, but only Emmett with his super vampire hearing could hear what he said. He growled a low growl only vampire ears could pick up, even through a phone. "So it's Emmett? Darn, it would have been funnier if it was Alice... Anyway, I figured you would be smart enough to have your phone off and I could just leave a message for you to listen to later, but I was wrong."

"Oh, whatever. Don't question my IQ and just tell me where you are, OK?" I said impatiently.

"Well… I'm somewhere in Southern Greenland. Actually, I might be in Northern Greenland by now, I don't really know." I walked out of the classroom, so none of the classmates could hear what I have to say, except maybe Emmett.

"Damn, you got farther than I thought. Do you want me to come get you and hold your hand like a baby while crossing the ocean or are you going to be a big girl and come all the way across the USA by yourself?" I asked her, pretending she was four.

She ignored my baby talk. "Give me a week. I'll be back Monday in time for school. Oh, and for any Cullen in hearing range who was listening to this conversation, if you try to come and find me, I will personally rip you limb from limb." Bella and I said our goodbyes and I went back to class. I could see fear on Emmett face from Bella's threat, and couldn't help but laugh at him.

I was bombarded with questions by nosy students, eager to gossip. "Where is she?" "Why'd she run away?" "When will she get back?"

I decided to give them answers to shut them up. "She ran away because the emotional pressure of our parents' death four months ago was too much for her. She is currently in South Dakota, and will be back Monday," I gave part truth and part lies. If I said she was in the icy tundra of Greenville, then people would want to know how she got there so fast. I stuck to our cover story. Our parents died in a car crash four months ago, and we had no other family so we live by ourselves. We moved away from South Dakota, where we used to live, to get away from the memories. It was a simple story that we made up at the last minute when they asked about our parents and our previous story wasn't convincing enough.

Everyone was looking at me at lunch, no shocker there. They were all talking about how Bella ran away. One rumor was what I said in class; she ran away from the emotional drama about our parents. The one, which someone made up, said she was secretly kidnapped. Another said she was pregnant, which is hilarious since vampires can't even get pregnant. The last one said it had something to do with her and Edward's bizarre fight in the hall, which is actually the true reason she ran away. These stupid humans have nothing better to do then make up rumors.

I sat alone at a table, facing the Cullens table, across the room. I wanted to go over there and torture them, but decided I wouldn't, for Bella. I could see them discussing the information Emmett had found out. Apparently Alice was in the classroom next to Indonesian 2, and heard the whole conversation, even the part about me being a loving sister that would never leave Bella. She, being a shopaholic pixie with a weak soul, was dry sobbing over that. I smiled triumphantly, until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around and to see a person standing there. He was tall, but not too tall, with dark brown, almost black, hair covering over his head in a messy manner. His eyes were grayish-blue. He wore a tight shirt with a skateboarding label and skinny jeans that had checkers in neon colors. Converse boots with random splats of paint came up to his knee was over his jeans. His crazy attire reminded me of mine. Following him was four boys and three girls, all with the mix of skater/punk/Goth look. "Can we sit here?" asked the guy who had tapped my shoulder. I shrugged my shoulders like I didn't care.

The guy who tapped my shoulder sat down next to me casually. His scent passed over me and I held my breath. He smelled better then most people. Hell, who am I kidding! He smelled better then the whole human race put together. Maybe if I lured him into the woods, no one would notice… I suddenly caught Edward's head whip around in my direction. _Stupid mind reader._

"Hey, my name's Danny Nelson, and this is Chris, Ian, Sid, Ryan, Rachel, Brit, and April." The guy, Danny, told me all of the people's names, but I was barely paying attention. His blood was so tempting, but I had to stay strong, to prove myself that I could live with only animal blood. _But what's the difference, it would just be one slip up. _I could see Edward sending me daggers with his eyes, but chose to ignore him.

They all stared at me, expecting me to tell them my name now. I opened my mouth to say my name, but realized that I was still holding my breath and had to inhale air in order to talk. _If I inhale right this second, I might not be able to stop myself from eating this dude in front of everybody. _

_I could just kill all the witnesses, maybe set the school on fire, and make it look like they didn't get out in time, _said that evil inner conscious of mine that was annoying me earlier.

I shot a look towards Edward. I hated what I was about to do, but had no better option but to swallow my pride. _Please, help. _"Hey, Sam!" He called, walking towards me now, saving my butt. "Mrs. Mimps needs you. She said something about a detention for what happened this morning." Danny's eyes filled with understanding and pity for me, he must have heard the rumors of what had happened this morning like everyone else. "See you later," he said, with a hint of hope that no one seemed to hear, but me. I walked out of the cafeteria hastily, and took a big breath of the polluted air.

Edward was beside me. I looked at him curiously. "Why did you help me?" I asked in a small voice.

He smiled sadly. "That boy—Danny—is your singer. I helped you because I was in your situation once."

I raised an eyebrow. "What happened?" I had never heard that Edward had a singer from the stories the Cullens had told me.

"I fell in love with her, and then left her. And now she hates me." My eyes widened. Bella was Edward's singer. I didn't know that part of the story.

So if Edward fell in love with his singer, would that mean I would fall in love with mine? That idea frightened me more than anything as I ran off school grounds and all the way to Greenland.

Bella's POV

I was somewhere in Greenland, sitting on the edge of a snowy cliff, staring into space while trying to think through my problems.

"Move over," said a voice behind me. It was Sam, and by the look on her face, something happened at school with her. I scooted over and patted the snow beside me. She sat down, and told me everything about the boy and his blood and the whole singer problem.

Sam and I sure have some problems to work out.

**So this chapter has a lot of Sam in it, but that's just because Sam needs more drama in her life… and a man… but anyway… REVIEW! :P**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: No Twilight Owning here… So this is purpletea's chapter (we alternate chapters); I hope you like it!**

Bella's POV

I walked across the school parking lot, laughing at something Sam had said and avoiding looking at the Cullens. I'd made sure Sam and I were running late this morning, guaranteeing I didn't have time to get distracted by the Cullens, and she didn't have time to see Danny. She was determined to deal with this singer thing without hurting anyone, or falling in love. I was just as determined to act like the Cullens had dropped off the face of the planet.

The whispers started as soon as we got out of the car. Despite how late we were there were still students lingering around the parking lot. Instinctively I looked down at my outfit, then over at Sam's. My clothes were boring as usual, and although Sam was wearing a short black skirt, black and white striped tights, black converse, and a neon green zebra print t-shirt with a long sleeved black net top under it, that was nothing strange for her.

I knew they were talking about how we'd disappeared for most of last week. It was Monday, the day of our return to this torture chamber they called school. Sam had spent the last week with me in Greenland, preying on moose and arctic foxes. She was trying to make sure she wasn't even remotely thirsty when she saw Danny again, and I was just trying to take out my anger at the Cullens on something. "I feel sorry for the poor moose that happens to cross your path," Sam had said back in Greenland.

With my vampire senses I could hear every whisper as we passed, and some of them were pretty funny. I was amazed at what the rumor mill could come up with in just one short week of absence. Some were saying that Sam and I had been having mental breakdowns over our parents' deaths. Others had elaborated on that and said we'd been committed to an insane asylum. Still others went with the rather simple excuse that we were just cutting school, going on vacation somewhere. The last ones I heard all said something to the effect that we were avoiding someone, and odds were it was the Cullens.

"These people have no imaginations," Sam muttered beside me, hearing the rumors as clearly as I did.

"Really? I thought the insane asylum was pretty creative," I replied.

"Yes, but it's still based off what I said in class. We've been gone a whole week for pudding's sake! They could've twisted the story around so that it didn't even vaguely resemble what I said by now!" she said.

"Pudding's sake?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? I'm not religious enough to have anything better to swear by," she snapped.

"Whatever, do you wanna take the doctor's note to the office or should I?" I asked, holding up the piece of paper excusing our absence. It said that I'd had some kind of stomach virus thing, and Sam had caught it from me. It also said that we were completely over it now, and it was signed by a fake doctor. The whole thing was a forgery, but I doubted the attendance people would be able to tell.

"I'll take it," Sam said, snatching the note out of my hand. Although I didn't want to go face Edward, I would do it for Sam. I waved as she ran off towards the admin building and then headed to my first class. I hadn't seen the Cullens around yet. They were probably all in class like the goody-goodies that they were.

I walked to class, at a slow human pace, not caring that I was going to be late. I was preparing myself for seeing Edward again and being stuck in a whole class with him. When I finally reached my class and took my seat, he wasn't there. This was so like him. I spend all week worrying about seeing him and he doesn't even show up. Great. I glared at the board as the lesson began, in an even worse mood than I was before.

Sam's POV

I ran to the front office and dropped off the note, smiling at how easily the receptionist swallowed my story. I went to first block, ignoring the looks Emmett kept sending me the whole class. None of it mattered. The classes, the Cullens, even the not-so-wild rumors the humans kept whispering, none of it was important today. My only goal was to make it through the day without killing Danny or even coming close to it. The next few classes went by all too quickly, and soon I was facing the dreaded lunch period. When I got to the cafeteria and sat down with my lunch Bella was nowhere to be seen.

"Thanks a lot Bella, just ditch me like that," I muttered to myself. Then Danny was there. I knew it before I saw him, or heard his voice. I could smell him from halfway across the cafeteria. His luscious scent wrapped around me like some insanely attractive cologne, making me gasp and immediately hold my breath.

"Hey, mind if sit here?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"N-No, not at all," I said, stuttering a bit as I tried to take in as little breath as possible to speak. I wondered where his friends were, but I didn't have the breath to ask. I tried to tell myself that I was fine, that I wasn't thirsty at all. I'd been taking extra measures to prepare myself for this all week. I'd even drained a raccoon before school this morning just so that I'd be as full as possible.

"You okay?" Danny asked, looking at my face intently.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" I said, trying to smile and make my expression normal again. I let myself breathe just the tiniest bit, trying to grow accustomed to the smell. He still smelled mouthwateringly delicious, but I wasn't too tempted.

"You just seem distracted," he said, still looking at me.

"I, um, I think I might've left my raccoon out this morning," I said as it was the first thing that popped into my head. I had brought the raccoon back to the apartment to eat this morning, and I thought I might've forgotten to throw it out.

"You have a pet raccoon?" Danny asked, his expression somewhere between thinking that was cool and thinking I was a lunatic.

"Um, sort of," I said, not sure what to tell him that would make sense.

"So, how do you like the school?" he asked, not-so-subtly changing the subject. I was grateful for the switch, however.

"Eh, it's school," I said, "You know how that goes."

"Yeah, I guess it's probably not any better here than it was at your last one," he said, smiling again. Once I got past the fact that his blood smelled better than anything else in the world, I realized that Danny was pretty cute.

"Well, maybe just a little better," I said, trying to remember the last time I'd gone to high school. My high school memories were human ones, and somewhat blurry. What I could remember of those days wasn't very good. There was a silence after that, and I started to look around the cafeteria, Bella was still missing, but Edward was watching me from his table, no doubt listening to the conversation in my mind. Impulsively I flipped him off, thinking, _Get out of my head, bastard._ Even though it was across the cafeteria, he got the message, and he glared at me.

A second later I heard Danny laugh. He'd realized the rude gesture wasn't directed at him and looked over his shoulder in time to see Edward glaring. "What's the deal with you and the Cullens anyway?" he asked, still grinning a bit.

"I just, they're really, ugh, I don't know how to explain it," I said. I couldn't tell Danny the truth, at least no the whole truth.

"You don't like them," he stated simply.

"No, not even the tiniest bit," I said.

"Especially that one dude, Edward or something," Danny continued.

"I especially hate him," I said, almost growled really.

"And the reason behind it is . . .?" he said, leaving the question hanging in the air for me to answer.

"Long story," I muttered. It wasn't a sufficient answer, and I knew it, but it was the best I had.

"Nasty break-up?" he guessed.

"Something like that," I said. I doubted that was what you'd call it when someone just _left_ the person they supposedly loved, breaking that person's heart and screwing up her life. Edward read the thoughts, and a pained expression crossed his face.

"He doesn't seem like your type," Danny commented dryly.

"He's not! He never was! Bella's the one who—well I don't know what it was really—but it was a long time ago!" I said, completely at a loss for what to say.

"So your sister dated him?" Danny clarified.

"Yes! And I guess you could say it ended badly," I told him.

"So you never liked him?" he asked now.

"Hell no!" I said, perhaps too forcefully. I just wanted it to be absolutely clear that I never liked/dated/whatevered Edward Cullen in the slightest. The only emotions I felt for him was annoyance on the best days, hatred on the worst. I swear I saw Edward look almost relieved.

"Good," Danny muttered.

"What?" I said, looking back at Danny, though I was sure I'd heard him perfectly.

"Like I said, he doesn't seem like your type," the skater boy said, looking down at his food.

I had to smile. It was obviously true. Even if Edward hadn't left Bella and broken her heart, I still wouldn't like him. He was the arrogant, overly-confident, pretty boy type, and I was more likely to go for the lazy, trouble-making, skater/emo/punk guys. I realized after I thought it that as far as I could tell Danny was all of the things in the second category. _Aw shit,_ I thought as the bell rang and I escaped the cafeteria. The last thing I needed was for Danny to be an awesome guy on top of smelling delicious.

Edward caught up with me as I headed to my next class. "Do you know what he was thinking during lunch?" he said. I assumed he meant Danny.

"No, I don't, and I'm sure I don't want to. Now, as I've said before, STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!" I yelled before running at full speed to my class. I only stopped once to turn around and yell, "AND STAY OUT OF DANNY'S HEAD, TOO!"

Bella's POV

**(AN: Even though this is purpletea's chapter, I, lari223, wrote this part. That means that since I didn't have purple's grammar check on this part, excuse all the grammar and spelling errors with are bond to happen. Thanks!)**

First block was over now, and second had started. I was not in second block, though. Upon seeing the other Cullens, I became angry. Why would the others be here, and not him? Had he ran away like his did when I first moved to Forks? Does he hate me?

I ran out to the forest, hunting on innocent animals that I took my frustration out on. I hadn't even realized the smell of another vampire until it was too late. "Bella?" called a voice.

Edward stood right behind me. I wiped around to see him, and knew that if my heart was still beating, it would be as fast as a rollercoaster right about now. "What are you doing here?" I said harshly.

"I've been out here in the forest since the start of school. Why are you out here? Did you want to see me or something?" The way he asked the last question made him sound hopeful.

"No, I'm just in a bad mood. So why weren't you in first block?" I changed the subject quickly, not wanting to explain that _he_ was the reason of said bad mood.

"I knew you would be back today, and didn't want to anger you anymore then necessary by being in your first class." Wow, that was nice of him. Why does he have to be so nice all the time?

"Oh," was the brilliant answer I came up with. He chuckled a little. Sometimes the way he acts make me thing that he could still love me, but that's not possible. _He left, and doesn't love me, and I don't love him either. _I told this to myself, making me believe it.

"How about I walk you back to school?" he said, putting his hand out in a gentlemen-like way. I didn't take it.

"I'm still thirsty," I make up a lie. He could tell I was lying, but didn't say anything and left. He probably thought I didn't want to be with him, which is why I didn't go back with him to school. The real reason was I couldn't; the more I'm near him, the more I discover the truth. I'm falling for Edward Cullen again.

_What do you mean again? You never stopped loving him in the first place,_ I told myself.

I sighed as I made my way back to school, noticing lunch was already over. Sam is going to be mad I wasn't there to help her with Danny problems. Well, Sam, I have problems of my own!

The main problem being that I still love Edward Cullen. _This year is going to get interesting._

**Like it? Hopefully next chapter can have more of Danny's past. Also, I hope to get more Bella and Edward. Any suggestions? Review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Twilight is too awesome for me to own, I'd screw up the story too much, and so would purpletea. And if I did own Twilight, well I would feel sorry for my editors. Heck, I feel sorry for purple, when she's not writing the chapter, she's editing my chapter. I love you, purple!! Lari223 ;)**

Chapter… what is it? 10?

Bella's POV

Over the course of the next week, I had had trouble ignoring the Cullens. Now that I have unfortunately discovered my true feelings for Edward, I wouldn't be able to pretend to be mad at him. As for the other Cullens, well it wasn't their fault that Edward left me and wouldn't let them say goodbye. I found myself missing Alice most of all. I missed her so much; I would even willingly go shopping with her just to see her.

At this, I heard a squeal across the lunch room. I was at lunch early, and so were most of the Cullens. Sam had failed to get to lunch early, and so had Danny. I had met him and found him a nicer, boy version of Sam. How odd.

So the squeal happened to be Alice, ironically. She ran, human speed, through the lunch room. Actually, it was a mix of running, dancing and skipping. "Alice, get off the red bulls. They're not good for your health!" I said jokingly at her. She rolled her eyes. The Cullen table was surprised at why I was joking with Alice, and why Alice squealed in the first place.

"I had a vision! You agreed to go shopping with me!" I sighed. She was a better mind reader then Edward. Isn't that sad?

"Ok, I'll go shopping with you!" I said in a happy way. Alice hugged me tightly. "I missed you," I whispered to her.

"I missed you too," she whispered back.

"How about we skip the rest of school and go catch up, OK?" I asked. She agreed fast, and we headed off to the parking lot, ignoring the jealous looks headed towards Alice from the rest of the Cullens.

Sam's POV

I was headed towards lunch. I walked extra slow, not wanting to actually be at lunch because of the smell. Don't get me wrong, I like Danny, a lot, but I don't want to eat him. I'm starting to actually get to know him as a person, so if I kill him now, then I would really hate myself.

"Sam, wait up!" Oh, speak of the devil. Danny walked up towards me. I smiled, something I don't do to just anybody.

"Hey, Danny! How are you today?" I know, I'm being nice to someone. It's a rare sight, so don't get used to it.

"I'm great, now that I'm with you," I swear, that is such a lame line, but when he said it, it would have made my heart stop if I were human. "Do you mind if we go talk somewhere else?" I shrugged my shoulders and we headed off to the parking lot.

Bella's POV

Alice and I sat on the bumper of Edward's Volvo. Edward had the keys to the car the Cullens came in, while Sam had the keys to the car that we came in. We could have easily hot wired the car, but what was the point? So we sat here in the parking lot, talking about random stuff.

"Do you love my brother?" asked Alice suddenly. I decided to play dumb.

"Well… I do love Emmett, but only as a brother and nothing more. And he has Rosalie, and I wouldn't want to cross her over Emmett," I say, trying to hold back the laugh at how weird that sounded. Good thing that we were far enough away to be out of vampire hearing distance. Sadly, Edward could still probably read Alice's mind.

Alice giggled a little, but then turned serious. "Answer me for real. Don't worry, I know how to block my thoughts from Edward, so he won't know what the answer is." She smiled eagerly, waiting for an answer.

I sighed, and stayed silent for awhile, then opened my mouth to answer. I was cut off by Edward himself walking into the parking lot. "Alice, Bella!" He called to us. I snapped my mouth shut quickly, but Alice looked gleefully. She must have seen what I was going to say in a vision before I actually said it. I hope she can block her thoughts pretty well.

"Bella, I need to talk to you," Edward said with sadness in his eyes. I nodded sharply. Edward glanced at Alice, and she took the hint by running/dancing off towards the school building. Knowing Alice, she would still be in hearing distance.

"Bella," started Edward. "I still love you. I never stopped. All the things I said in the forest were lies, and I'm sorry that I lied to you." I opened my mouth to object, but he cut me off. "I don't know if you believe me now, but it is true. And I can tell by the way you've been treating me lately, that you don't love me anymore."

He paused, and pain came across his face. Did he really think I didn't love him? I know I've been hiding the truth since I figured it out, but I didn't think I was that good at faking my hate for him. I do love him, I finally admit it in my head, but I do not trust him.

"I know that you won't believe me, being as stubborn as you are, but I wish that you would. I realized that my family coming here is hurting you." He looked down. "And if we are hurting you that much, then we could leave."

I felt anger weld up in me. I wanted to punch this guy! He was going to leave me again! "You're going to leave?" My voice cracked, and I felt the tearless sobs starting to shake through my body.

"Not if you don't want us to." Everything was silent for a second, before he continued. "Do you want us to?"

That was the real question. Did I want him to leave? I would never give Edward a second chance, in fear he might break my heart again. His being here would just tempt me to take him back and get hurt again. But could I survive him leaving again? That was a no. I didn't say anything in a while, and Edward must have taken the silence as a 'yes.'

"You want us to leave?" He sounded broken, in a way. Did he really love me? I had trouble believing him, and was unsure how to answer. Lucky I didn't have to.

"No she doesn't!" answered two voices at the same time. I was shocked to see Alice and Sam, with Danny trailing behind.

Sam's POV

I walked along the rows of cars in the parking lot. Why in the world had Danny wanted me to come out here? Was something wrong?

Suddenly, he stopped walking. I turned to look at him. "Sam… I really like you and was wondering if you wanted to go out some time?" Oh… So we came out here so he could ask me out. I was afraid he had found out what I was or something.

I didn't know what to say. Do I want to go out with him? Well, that was a yes. Could I handle his scent for a couple extra hours of a day? Was it worth the risk? I wasn't sure.

When I had made up my mind to make an answer, I could hear the conversation of Bella and Edward drift into my ears. This was something that I just _had_ to hear. I was too preoccupied at listening to Edward's pathetic-ness and cluelessness that I had forgot Danny.

"Sam?" asked Danny's voice asked, which fear of rejection.

"One second," I said, shutting him up so I could hear Bella and Edward. Their conversation was just getting interesting, and I could tell Bella didn't know what to do. I decided to help. I started walking briskly to the spot where they stood, on the other side of the parking lot. Danny followed, obviously confused.

You want us to leave?" Edward said in a broken voice that I would normally laugh at, but I held in my humor for Bella's sake. Bella didn't know what to say, so I jumped into the conversation.

"No she doesn't!" I know, I hate Edward, but I know Bella loves him, so she's just going to have to accept that fact eventually and get over it.

I wasn't the only one who answered for Bella. Alice had jumped into the conversation. I was always slightly jealous of Alice, for she held a special place in Bella's heart that I didn't.

"What do you mean?" asked Edward, looking at Alice. He seemed to be reading her mind, but from the frustrated look he got, he had gotten no good information from his mind. He then looked towards me. I couldn't block my mind, and let a memory of mine flood my thoughts.

"_Sam! I need your help!" cried Bella. I walked over to her room. She had a troubled look on her face. "I need help with this problem I have."_

"_Ugh. Problems. You have them, too?" I said in a sarcastic way. Bella shot me a look telling me to shut up._

"_I think I still love Edward, but I don't trust him." I motioned my hand for her to keep going. I mean, it was obvious she still loved him but couldn't trust him, so I saw this as old news. "That's it. What should I do?"_

"_I don't know. Give him a second chance?" I was never good a boy problems and Bella knew that. Why she was seeking my help was beyond me. The only reason I said this was because I felt sorry for him._

"_That's interesting. You hate the guy, but say he deservers another chance. Interesting," she repeated. I could tell she wasn't going to take my advice, but it was worth a try._

Edward's eyes lit up at the memory. "You love me?" he asked in Bella's direction. Obviously, he was thick headed. Bella glared at me, and I glared at Edward.

"How many times do I have to tell you? SAY OUT OF MY MIND, YOU NO-GOOD, HEART-BREAKING, BELLA-LEAVING, MIND READING, ASS OF A VAMPIRE!" I said that pretty loudly, forgetting we were at school. At least no one was around to hear.

"Vampires?" Oh wait, Danny was still there.

"Ah, damn," I mumbled and turned to Danny. I guess it's time for the truth.

**TADA! Sam's sooo smart, isn't she? That was sarcasm, by the way. So, did you like it? **


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry we haven't updated in awhile, it's all my fault (purpletea that is) so if you're pissed blame me. Trust me, lari has been on my case to write for like a week and I've just been too busy, or lazy, not entirely sure which…**

**Lari223: I just wanted to mention that on fictionpress dot com, which is a lot like fanfiction, purple and I made another story. That's probably why purple was so busy. We like it better, no offense to MPH (my personal hell), so we write it more often. Its called Mutts, if you want to read it, on purple's account, **_**pelly**_**. Summary: 'two girls are twins seperated at birth. the twist? they're a hybrid of two magical species with incredible powers. add in that they remember none of their past or each other and that insanely hot and evil twin boys are after them. then it gets fun.' Ya'll should go read it.**

Sam's POV

Everyone was looking at me, and I hated that. What the hell was I supposed to do here? It wasn't like we could just make Danny forget what I'd just said. I mean, we could pass it off as some lame joke. 'Yeah, did I say vampire? Oh well that's just this inside joke we have . . .' Yeah, that'd go over really great. It'd be nice if we could just erase his memory. I glanced at Edward, who was shaking his head. Okay, so that wasn't really an option either. The last option here, the one we would have to go with it seemed, was the scariest one, the truth.

I sighed. "Danny, come with me," I said, "We've gotta talk." Danny looked hesitant for a fraction of a second before following me across the parking lot and around to the back of the cafeteria building.

"What did you mean vampire? And mind-reading?" Danny said as soon as we were out of earshot, or seemingly so. I knew Edward and Bella would be able to hear us, but I tried to forget about that.

I took a deep breath before saying. "Edward's a vampire, and so is Bella, and," I paused before continuing, "so am I."

"For real?" was his only response.

"For real," I muttered.

"So, you like, drink blood and stuff?" he asked quietly, and when I looked at him he was avoiding my eyes.

"Yes, but we're not what you'd call normal vampires," I said, "We drink animal blood." Danny looked like he was about to ask something else, but I cut him off. "Just give me a few minutes to explain it all. Trust me, it'll be faster," I said. I sat down on the grass near the wall of the building and Danny took a seat beside me. I sighed and began to explain.

Bella's POV

I watched Sam and Danny go, worried for a multitude of reasons. Number one was how Sam was going to explain things to Danny. A close second was that I was now alone with Edward. He was looking at me intensely, and no matter how long I avoided looking at _him_whenever I snuck a glance he was still there, watching me.

"Do you really love me?" he asked solemnly.

"It's sad, but I really do," I replied, biting my lip.

"Why is it sad?" he asked, and it exasperated me that he couldn't just _understand_ already.

"Because you left me, alright?! You broke my heart, and I still can't make myself truly hate you!" I said, "It's sad that I'm that attached to you!"

"If . . . if it's hurting you to be around me, to have that reminder, then I'll go," he said, but he looked pained. I couldn't believe it. He was pulling this stupid little stunt yet again. I glared at him with such ferocity that he flinched.

"Don't you get it?! I don't want you to go away! As much as it hurts to see you it hurts more to think of you leaving again!" I nearly whined.

"Then what do you want?" he asked, as calm as ever.

I don't know why I did what I did next. It was some instinct left over from my human years. Or maybe it was an entirely new one. Either way, it felt right. I stepped closer to Edward, dangerously close, and I grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt, dragging him even closer. Then I looked at him for less than a second before crushing my lips onto his. He didn't move at first, out of shock I was sure, but then his arms were wrapping around me. I released his shirt and moved my hands to his hair, trying to press even closer to him. His tongue skimmed along my lower lip, requesting access, and I quickly granted it.

It was different from the other times I'd kissed him, so very different, but it was also better. Neither of us had to be careful or controlled. This was all emotion and passion, and it was amazing. I almost whimpered as he pulled away.

"Why?" he asked, his voice somehow sounding rough.

"Because that's what I want," I said calmly.

"So you're giving me a second chance?" he asked now.

I sighed. I didn't want to go into this exactly. "Sort of. I still don't trust you completely, but I'm tired of lying," I said quietly.

"Well that's enough for me," he muttered and bent to kiss me again.

Sam's POV

I'd finished explaining to Danny. Now came the hard part, his reaction.

"Just one more question," he said.

"Alright," I replied. I hoped it would be an easy one, but I doubted it at the same time.

"How did you become a vampire?" he asked.

The memory was on me before I could stop it and lock it away with the rest of my bad experiences. Suddenly it was flooding through my mind, and I was back in that little room again.

_The scientist looked over me disdainfully, scribbling something on his clipboard. He was disappointed in me. Oh well, he would have to deal with it. I never seemed to meet his expectations, but it hardly bothered me. I often wondered why he bothered with these experiments, since they were yielding little to no results, but he was determined._

_I could understand it, a little bit. He was a vampire now, but he used to be one of the humans who hunted our race. Of course that had been hundreds of years ago, but he could never give up the profession. He was using me, his own little lab rat, to practice. He wanted to find a "cure" for vampirism. Others had called him crazy. I couldn't say that I disagreed. I heard the things he said when he muttered to himself late at night. I don't know how he expected me not to. They weren't sane things._

_I smiled up at him, feeling defiant today. "Am I doing something wrong, doctor?" I asked sweetly. He insisted on being called "doctor" though he had no degree that I was aware of. _

"_No, no, it's not your fault if the procedure doesn't work," he said, continuing to scribble. I knew it was a lie, at least in his mind. He somehow blamed me for all his failures, but I suppose I understood that as well. He was frustrated, and I was the only thing he had to blame._

It wasn't long after that I'd broken out, killing the scientist. He wasn't so terrible, but I hated being an experiment. I wanted more than that, and I didn't want him following me while I tried to live my life. He'd changed me, but only so that he could use me for research. I didn't owe him anything, so I didn't really feel bad for killing him.

I smiled weakly and looked at Danny. "You know, it's a long story, but I'm gonna tell you anyway," I said. I didn't want to hide things from him. I told him about it, and then continued on and filled in the story of what I did after that and how I met Bella and the Cullens and then the bit that led up to now.

"Okay, didn't your family wonder where you went?" he asked when I'd finished. I could tell he was getting pretty overwhelmed here, and not doubt this was only one of many questions he had.

"No, I don't think Dad ever really noticed. My mom ran off when I was little and Dad was, well he had a bit of a drinking problem, and that's saying it nicely. Every day was the same for him. It was always get up, drink until you puke, pass out, then sleep it off for twelve hours so that you could get up and do it all again. Whether I was a there or not never really concerned him," I said. I was pretty sure my dad was dead by now, and that didn't bother me one bit.

"Oh," was all Danny managed to say. For once I wished Edward was here to tell me what he was thinking.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in, so I'll let you think on it for awhile, okay?" I said, standing up. Danny stood too. "Just let it sink in, and try not to think too much," I continued, "You'll be fine." In my mind I added, _I hope._

"Kay," he said, and he headed for the parking lot. I watched as he drove off, going home even though school wasn't over yet. He had a right to skip a class or two. He had a lot on his mind.

I walked back around to where we'd left Edward and Bella, barely surprised to see them making out. They were so absorbed in each other that they didn't hear me approach, and I decided to have some fun with it. I snuck up as close as I could without being noticed.

"HIYA!" I screamed, and they jumped. I laughed, saying, "I leave you two alone for ten minutes, and I find you sucking face, how pathetic."

"So what'd you tell Danny?" Bella asked, changing the subject as she disentangled herself from Edward.

"The truth," I said.

"The Volturi may not like that," Edward said, the downer as always.

"The Volturi don't have to know," I growled, making it clear whose fault it would be if they _did_ find out.

"I hope you're right, hon," Bella said. She sounded worried for Danny, but I noticed the way her eyes kept trailing back to Edward.

"He knows not to tell anyone, and besides, who'd believe it?" I said.

"You'd be surprised what people believe," Edward muttered, sounding ominous. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever, I'm out of here, and I'm taking the car," I said, heading for the vehicle, "I assume you've got a ride home Bella."

Edward nodded, and before I was out of the parking lot I saw them kissing again.

**That's it for now, review. Should Danny be changed or not? We don't really know yet, so we need your advise!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Did you know the abbreviation for My Personal Hell, MPH, is the same abbreviation for miles per hour? ^.^ Useless information's the best, huh? …I feel like I'm forgetting something… Oh, yeah… Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and this is the last time I'm going to remind you this obvious fact.**

*****I'm going to tell you in advance that this chapter is short, but it's VERY IMPORTANT. A LOT of things happen in this chapter.*****

**Chapter… whatever number it is…**

Bella's POV

I sat at my window, watching Sam and Danny talk. They were so much like Edward and I used to be, it made tears that will never fall come to my eyes. It had only been a week since Danny found out, and I could already tell they were falling in love.

Edward and I had decided to take our relationship slow. We'd talk and hang out, but we'd act like only friends. I'm not ready to trust him yet, and he doesn't want to push me. He was acting strange yesterday, and I have no idea why. I hope it is because he wants to move our relationship go on to the next level, because I think I'm ready. I haven't told him I love him yet, though, even though he reminds me of his love every day. We have forever to work out our problems.

The only problem is that things have changed so much. He's changed some, being more fragile than I thought was possible, as if he could lose me at any second. I've changed, too. I'm not as obsessive and needy as I used to be. I'm independent and strong, now.

I stopped Sam as she and Danny walked inside. Danny looked at Sam, then me, then back at Sam. "Go watch TV. This will only take a minute," I told him, waving my hand toward the family room. He looked at Sam, who nodded, before leaving.

"What?" she hissed once Danny was out of hearing distance.

"I just wanted to tell you something. If you leave that poor boy, I will take joy in ripping you limb to limb, and dancing happily around the fire you burn in," I whispered. I sounded morbid, but she had to get my threat. I wasn't going to let her break the heart of the poor boy like Edward had done to me.

Sam nodded, understanding why I said it. "I haven't told him I love him yet, but when I do, and he hopefully returns it, he's going to eventually want to be a vampire. What should I do?" Sam's eyes dared me to tell her not to change him, when I knew she wanted him changed.

"I think that if he wants to be changed, he should be. Just make sure he is fully aware of what he's getting himself into. Explain the newborn vampire and such to him. And also, we should probably wait till graduation." Sam nodded again.

"Can I go, now?" She pointed toward the room where Danny waited, the sounds of the TV leaking through the walls.

"Yes, Sam, you can go back to your lover," I said. She hit my arm, even though she smiled at the comment.

Sam and Danny went to go eat dinner at a fancy restaurant. Actually, Danny went to eat and Sam went to watch him eat. Danny practically lives at our house now, and only goes home to sleep. His parents don't give a damn, being too wrapped up in their own lives to care. He and Sam have to go out to restaurants daily, since Sam could never cook, and I lost all my cooking skills when I was turned.

I sat on the couch, or more like laid on the couch, reading one of the random books I had found in the house. It was a Jane Austen book, and so far, nothing exciting has happened.

When the door bell rang, I got up slowly and walked to the door in a lazy manner. I opened it fast, though, expecting to see Edward there. Instead, there was a dozen roses bundled together, resting on the ground outside the door. A note lay out to the side, and said only one word: _Goodbye_. It took me less then a second to recognize the elegant script. Edward.

I was going to give him a second chance! I was going to give him my love, my heart, and what did he give me? Roses and a goodbye note?

**(AN: purpletea's picture of the scene, minus the candle: ****.com/art/Goodbye-Roses-138889978**** :P)**

I could smell his scent leading to the woods. I followed it, wanting an explanation. After a couple miles of running at vampire speed, I could smell another six vampires join with the other scent. So the family was in on this, too?

Eventually I caught up with them. Edward was in front, running faster then all of them. "STOP!" My voice carried throughout the forest. All the vampires skidded to a stop. Edward walked, human speed, toward me. He motioned to the others to leave. Rosalie ran off, not caring at all. Carlisle and Jasper left, respecting Edward's decision, but not before sending sympathetic look my way. Esme and Emmett hesitated, but followed the others after both giving me hugs. Alice refused to move.

"You're going to regret this, Edward. I know you are. I can see it," Alice said firmly.

"No I am not, Alice. You're just saying that so I won't leave your best friend," Edward stated just as firmly. Alice went to argue, but no words left her mouth. She knew Edward was right.

She ran in my direction, hugging me as I fell toward the ground. "I'm sorry," she whispered. She stood, on the verge of dry sobbing, and ran off to join the others.

I stood and dusted myself off from the fall. I looked Edward's way, and almost broke down. Almost. "Why?" I choked out in a whisper. "I thought you loved me."

"Bella, that's just the thing. I _loved_ you. But you're not the same you used to be. You've changed." He looked sad, seeing the face of the old Bella, with the heart of the new Bella.

"Yes, I have changed. I'm independent, now. I'm not an obsessive and needy human, anymore. That's a good thing." I didn't sound desperate, but I wanted him to understand this.

"Don't you see? That's what I loved about you! I loved how embarrassed you would get. How human you were. How you needed me to be by you every second. How I helped you through all the dangers you always encountered." He looked lost in thought for a minute, but my speaking pulled him back to reality.

"You didn't love me, you just loved playing hero," I said coldly, "You can't be the hero all the time, Edward."

"My Bella would never be mean to me," he stated.

"I'm terribly sorry I grew a back bone," I said sarcastically.

"My Bella would never be sarcastic with me," he stated another difference in me. He was becoming annoying, but I stayed silent. "I would have tried to get used to these changes in you, but you won't give me a chance; you won't let me love you again."

"It's only been a week!" I exclaimed. "Open wounds don't heal over night. And today, I was going to let you in my heart, again. Today I was going to tell you I love you!"

"It's too late, now," he said angrily, before running away again. I sat on the ground and dry sobbed for an hour, before picking myself up and heading home.

I lay on the couch again, twirling one of the roses in my hand. The others rested on the table, along with the "goodbye" note. Sam walked in, gleefully, with Danny by her side. Danny sat across the room, pretending he wasn't there, as Sam sat by me, obviously about to have one of those sisterly talks.

"Danny told me he loved me!" she said full of a joy I've never seen in her. "I told him the same thing. We decided to- what's wrong with you?"

I explained to her what had happened in a monotone voice. Sam hugged me, before giving me an "I-told-you-so" speech. After that rant of hers was over, the forgotten Danny spoke.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I promise to beat him up if we ever see him again when I'm a vampire," he said, sounding like a protective brother.

"Thanks, but you don't have- wait, when you're a vampire?" I shot Sam a glance to see her reaction, and she looked calm and normal. "Did I miss something?"

"As I was saying earlier, we decided to change Danny after high school was over. He didn't want to be a weak human when his girlfriend was a vampire." Sam rolled her eyes. She obviously didn't understand why guys always wanted to be the strong and tough one in the relationship, and neither did I. I guess it's a guy thing.

"That's great!" I said with no enthusiasm. I was happy for them, but wasn't in the best of moods.

"Cheer up, and get over him. He wasn't worth it." Sam stood and went over to Danny.

"I should get going home, now." He glanced at a clock on the wall. Sam nodded, and pecked him on the lips. She pulled away quickly, trying to resist the urge to eat him.

"I love you," she whispered, reminding him.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. She walked him out to his car.

I felt jealousy in me, want a loving relationship like that. I promise to myself that I will find someone to love, and to spend eternity with.

**Oh snap, he left again. Wasn't expecting that one, huh? I know a lot of you are going to be disappointed, but get over it. EdwardXBella love is BORING!!! He might come back, he might not. She might find someone else, she might not. We don't even know, yet!**

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	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Sam's POV

I sighed and leaned against the porch, watching Danny drive away. As much as I liked Danny and spending time with him, I couldn't help but think that maybe we were moving too fast. I loved him. I was sure of that. I just didn't want either of us to make a huge commitment before we really knew each other. I hated myself for thinking it, but I didn't want us to end up like Edward and Bella. Really, _I _didn't want to end up like Bella, heartbroken and alone.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Alice's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"Hi Sam," she chirped.

"Should've known you'd be expecting me to call," I muttered, but I wasn't as annoyed as I normally would be.

"Edward's not here," she said before I could ask.

"Then where is he?"

"I don't know."

"Liar, you know everything."

She laughed. "Hardly, but you're right, I know where he is."

"Then tell me already."

"No."

"Alice!"

"No, it'll do you no good. You should stay away from him."

"I don't need your advice."

"It's not advice; it's an order. Stay away from him, for your own good."

"Alice, what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, but the girl had already hung up. Sam sighed and walked back inside. She wanted to hunt Edward down and give him a good beating, but she was a terrible tracker, so without Alice's help, she would never find him.

"What did Alice say?" Bella asked from the couch.

"Nothing helpful," I growled as I walked past her to the kitchen.

"Well try to trust her judgment," she said, "Alice knows best."

"I wouldn't bet on that," I said, opening the fridge.

"I never bet against Alice," she muttered in reply. I sighed and peered into the fridge, which was mostly empty except for a few blood packets and some apples that were entirely for show.

"What'd you do with my possum?!" I called.

"I threw him out," Bella said, "He was getting old."

"That's why he was in the fridge!" I yelled, "I was saving him for later!"

"You can't put road kill in the fridge Sam," she said calmly.

"Yes I fuckin' can!" I argued.

"It was just a possum, go get something else to eat," Bella told me.

"I want my damn possum!" I said.

Bella's POV

I laughed at Sam as she stormed upstairs to her room. She could get attached to the silliest things. I couldn't stop myself from replaying the conversation I'd had with Edward right before he left for good. _My Bella would never be mean to me,_ he'd said. _My Bella would never be sarcastic with me,_ he'd said. I laughed again, bitterly this time. He'd said 'my Bella' like we were two different people. It seemed so stupid that he could realize how different I was but still expect me to be his Bella again.

I got up off the couch and stepped outside, thinking about going hunting. After a second of thought I decided against it. I wasn't in the mood to rip anything apart that wasn't Edward-shaped. I jumped off the porch and started running, not knowing where I was going or if I was coming back. I wasn't going to do one of those run-away-and-hide-out-in-Greenland-for-a-week things, but I wanted to run as far as I could as fast as I could and not worry about getting back anytime soon.

I'd been running for a few hours when I picked up a strange scent. I skidded to a stop, backtracking a few yards to where I'd smelled it. It wasn't strange really; I just hadn't smelled this type of scent in awhile. It was a vampire smell but mixed with fresh human blood. When I looked at the ground I could see a faint trail of blood platters leading off into the trees. I followed it, looking around at the trees around me. They were tall, and they made the forest gloomy at this time of day.

_Gawd this feels like a scene from a horror movie,_ I thought, but I kept walking.

Well, I wasn't in a horror movie, but the scene I found at the end of the trail was horrific enough to fit in one. A vampire—at least I sincerely hoped he was a vampire—was bent over a human girl. The girl was pale, and from the odd angle of her neck I could see that she was dead. I winced, feeling sorry for her but also relieved that the monster had at least killed her before draining her of blood.

I made a disgusted sort of gagging noise, and his head snapped up to look at me. He quickly dropped the girl and dashed over, at vampire speed. He stood in front of me, close enough that I could smell his breath. He looked angry, and when he spoke it was in a low growl.

"Have you come to disturb my meal?" he asked. He looked me over, seeming to note my golden eyes, and his scowl deepened. "Or perhaps you've come to call me a monster?" he snarled. I'm sure my eyes widened. I had called him such just a moment ago in my mind. Could he be a mind-reader like Edward? I really hoped not.

He saw my shocked expression and chuckled. "No, I don't know what you're thinking," he said, "_Your_ kind is just predictable."

"What do you mean _my_ kind?" I snapped. He was being rude, and it pissed me off.

"The gold-eyes, the animal-drinkers; whatever you call it the basis is the same," he said, "You vampires who try to feed from only animals."

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, "At least we're not _monsters_."

"What's wrong with _that?_" he parroted, "Being monsters is the nature of vampires."

"Maybe that needs to change," I said, "Maybe that stereotype needs to be fixed."

"We've got a saying where I come from, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it,'" he said.

"But it is broken!" I argued.

He rolled his eyes. "I've got better things to do than argue the rights and wrongs of vampire nature with a _gold-eye_," he sneered and turned to go.

"Wait!" I yelled, "What about her?!" I was looking at the girl whom he'd discarded. She was dead, but you can't just leave a dead girl lying in the middle of the forest.

"I'm done with it, if you'd like to take a sip," he said calmly, and grinned at my horrified expression. "But of course you're too noble for that."

"You have to clean it up!" I told him.

"No, I don't! It'll give the local cops some fun," he said.

"You can't do that!" I yelled.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" he snapped, and suddenly he was in front of me again, getting in my face. I glared, about to say something more, but he continued. "And don't try to tell me how to live my life. It's none of your business," he snarled, "You can go back to your perfect life and your perfect mate and all your little perfect friends and stay the hell away from me."

I slapped him. It was my first reaction, but I couldn't explain it. This guy was making me angry, and it was such a simple matter to reach out and slap him, so I did, hard. He looked surprised, but I wasn't finished. "Don't say that! You don't know me! You don't know what I'm dealing with so don't tell me to go back to anything perfect because it's not fucking possible!" I shrieked, the anger pouring out. The part about the mate had stung me the most, since Edward's absence was still like an open wound.

His anger seemed to cool slightly and the look he gave me was dangerously close to bored. "Like I said, I got better things to do, see ya around, or not," he said.

"What's your name?" I asked, but my voice was calmer now.

"Conner Daniels," he said.

"Bella Swan," I replied.

"Whatever, bye," he said, and took off. I didn't bother to follow him, nor did I bother to clean up the mess he left. It wasn't my problem. Like he'd said, it'd give the local cops some fun. Plus I wasn't in the mood to hide a corpse while resisting the urge to drain the remaining blood from it. That wouldn't be very good for me.

I turned around and started running home, but my mind kept straying to Conner. He was strange, with his hatred of gold-eyes—as he'd called them. I didn't understand him, and in spite of myself I wanted to. I knew it was stupid to try to figure this guy out. He was just some random vampire I'd run into in the woods. Chances were I'd never see him again. It was ridiculous to care, but I did.

**So what do you thing? Hmm? Well, don't just sit there! Review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Sam's POV:

I paced back and forth while Bella vented her anger at Edward to Alice over the phone.

Bella, Alice, and I stayed friends, despite Edward's idiotic-ness. They lived only two states away, which is only an hour run. Alice said that Eddie-Boy had run away from the Cullens. Bella and I gave a "good riddance" at that news.

"What an idiot, to let your family worry themselves for running away like that, without telling any of you. He even kept changing his mind to mess up visions! I bet poor Esme is sobbing over him because of this. What a bastard, to make Esme sob," Bella said, trying to make the freaking-out pixie feel better by agreeing with her. I could tell Bella truly cared less.

"I can't even get a vision about where he is right now; everything's blank! Besides, he was a horrible brother. First, all he did was mope around. Then he met you and left you, my best friend. Then he moped again, and he moped even worse than he did when he first became a vampire, according to Carlisle. Then, he comes back to you and leaves you, my best friend, AGAIN! Then he worries the rest of the family to death by disappearing! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIS MIND?" Alice yelled firmly.

Bella turns her attention to me. I was pacing around the living room, at vampire speed. I could already see the carpet wearing out. "Sam stop pacing, will you?" I shook my head.

"NO!" I whined. "I'll do what I want, dammit. Danny's not here yet. He was supposed to be here three minutes ago!" I let out scream of frustration. Hey, it was better then punching the wall. I am not a very patient person, OK?

"Chill, Sam. He's only three minutes late," Bella reasons, before continuing her conversation with Alice. I tune them out, not in the mood to hear how much they hate Edward. I had always hated him, and they knew that. No need to tell them again. He was stupid and annoying and arrogant at times. He was dramatic and selfish. People usually only saw his good qualities, how little they may be, because he was hot. But Danny was hotter…

Bella's screaming woke me up from my day dreaming of Danny. "Alice? Are you there? HELLO?"

"OH MY GOD!" Alice's voice blasted through the phone so loud, that I fell backward and hit my head on the floor. "Guys, I just had a vision that some vampire was killing Danny!" I didn't take my time to listen to what else she had to say, and ran the route between my house and his house. He had to have taken it and was abducted on the way to my house.

Sure enough, I saw Danny's car on the side of the road not too far from home. It was one of the deserted roads that we always took as a short cut, and was near the woods. The window was broken, not a good sign.

I screamed loudly at the sight of blood by the window. I breathed it in, burning my mouth with venom, and followed the scent of his blood. I ran faster than I have ever before, not happy in the slightest. He couldn't die, not yet. I cleared those thoughts and pushed my legs even faster.

In less then five minutes, I found him. In front of his broken body was an evil, monstrous-looking vampire. "Stop!" I screamed. The man looked at me impatiently.

I ripped the vampire off Danny before he could bite and threw him at a tree. I pushed him against the tree and ripped his arm off. His other arm was about to be torn off of his body when a force field suddenly surrounded him. I turned around to see Bella.

"Sam," Bella whispered grimly. "You looked like a monster for a second, ripping off his arm like that. Please stop trying to kill Conner and help me save Danny. You can always kill him later," she added.

"I froze. Conner. She knew his name. "You know this vile excuse of existence?"

"Sort of, but that's not the point. We have to save Danny before it's too late." She paused and looked over his injures. "His neck's broken, and so is the Carotid artery. There's a good 95% he's going to die. You have to make the choice now. Change him or risk the chance of him dying?" I walked over to my Danny. I glanced back, making sure "Conner" was held tightly in his force field. He was, so I turned my attention fully to Danny. My Danny, the one whom lay unconscious at this very minute.

"You'll have to pull me back if I don't stop," I warn Bella, without looking at her. I can tell she nodded from the corner of my eye.

The choice was obvious. He was going to be changed eventually, so why not now? "I'm sorry," I whispered in his ear. I gently kissed his soft lips before moving to his neck. "This might hurt a little—or a lot actually." I breathed in his scent, letting it devour me.

I sink my teeth into Danny's neck, and for a moment I forget who he is. I feel his blood running through me. I can feel his life pulsing through my veins; I want to eat that life in him.

Too soon, I am pulled away by an unseen force. It's Bella's force field. "Sam, you almost killed him," Bella mutters, mortified.

"Danny," I whisper sadly. Holding my breath, I take Danny and run home.

Bella's POV

I sit down on the ground, still mortified, not making a move to follow Sam. She will need her alone time to think things through and be with Danny, and I don't want to bother her. I heard leaves rustling behind me, and then remember Conner. With a wave of my hand, the invisible shield that surrounded him vanished. I don't turn around and look at him, not wanting to see his face at the moment.

"You can pick up your arm and go," I tell him, staring into the trees in front of me.

"I'm sorry," he says sincerely, taking me by surprise. "I didn't know the human was yours."

"He's more then 'the human.' He was my brother, in a sense; he was my sister's boyfriend. He means a lot to us."

"Well, you were probably going to change him anyway." Conner lazily sits down next to me.

"He had a human life, too, though. Friends. Family. School. He wasn't ready to be changed. He needed more time to live a real life and gain human memories before he would be stuck living a vampire life forever."

"I really am sorry," he repeats. "If there's anything I can do to help…"

"It'd help if you'd leave so I don't have to pull Sam off you when she tries to kill you."

"Aw, you'd save me?"

"Probably not."

"You're so caring."

"You're so annoying."

"Cry me a river."

"Go bug someone else, will ya?"

"You're such a whiner, like most gold-eyes."

"You're such a jerk, like most red-eyes. Do you even care that you kill endless people? They could have families, friends, loved ones. What if someone killed your friend?"

"Good thing I don't have any friends for them to kill, then."

"You could have-," I whisper, and stop myself before I say _me_, "-a friend."

He thinks I am challenging him, when I really am asking to be his friend. "I could have a friend, I just don't want friends. I'd rather be lonely for eternity then risk friendship." This is interesting to me. I figured Conner to be the risky type. He must have some bad experiences with friendship in the past or something.

"I wouldn't." Loneliness reminds me of Edward. I close my eyes, wishing we could change the subject. "So, why are you nice, or at least semi-civil, to me now? What happened to your rude and gold-eye-hating Conner I met a week ago?"

"I don't know; I grew a conscience?" he suggested.

"I guess so," I said. I was actually starting to like the Conner with a conscience. We fell into awkward silence.

"Do you think Danny's OK?" he asked quietly.

I listen to the sounds. I can hear faint screaming in the distance. That's Danny's screaming from the transformation. "I think he's about to be a vampire, but don't know if that's a good thing or a bad. I think it's more bad than good, though." Conner didn't say anything for a while.

"I am a monster," he whispered at last. I opened my mouth to protest, a natural reflex I got from arguing with Edward, but I said nothing. He was a monster, after all. "See, even you don't disagree. I am a sick monster that shouldn't even be living."

"Shut up," I tell him, feeling ill. This conversation is so much like the ones with Edward that it makes me want to cry. It's not that I miss Edward; it's just that I don't like to think about him, remembering all the times I craved for him. It was sick how pathetic I once was when it came to Edward.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Shut up," I repeat. "I don't want to hear your self-hatred. You're just like Edward," I say in disgust.

"Who the hell is Edward?"

"My ex-boyfriend." It's weird. Normally, it would hurt my chest to think of him as an ex, but I feel no pain. Instead, I just sound angry.

"What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"It's a long story," I tell him, trying to avoid having to tell it to him.

"I have time."

With a sigh, I slowly tell him the story of the lion and the lamb and all the details in between. It takes a couple hours to do so, but he listens to every word the whole time. It feels good to tell someone other than Sam or Alice. He seems to understand me, too. At the end, I wait for him to say something, but he doesn't at first.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. You could do better than him, I'm sure about that." Then we go back into silence. He opens his mouth to say something, but at that exact time, Alice comes running into the forest area we're in.

"Bella, I need to talk to you about-" she stops and sees Conner. "You're Conner, right? I had many visions about you." She smiles widely and winks suggestively at me. I roll my eyes at her, but if I were human I would be blushing.

"Anyway," exclaims Alice, "I had a vision that Danny's a vampire. Sam bit him, right?" I give her a nod. "Well, since Edward left our family, I had a vision that we all split up. Emmett and Rosalie go back into the honeymoon phase, but we see them every month or so. Carlisle and Esme take the time to live alone for awhile, but come and visit us every week."

I raised an eyebrow. "Us being…?"

"Us being you, Sam, Danny, Conner, Jasper and I."

"What about Conner?" asked Conner.

"You're going to be in the new Swan coven."

"And if I don't want to?"

Alice went in her blank vision state. "You've already decided to join and become a vegetarian," she smirks.

I can see Conner about to punch Alice, so I jump in the middle of them. "Can you join our coven?"

"Sure," he grumbles, and Alice beams.

"You're going to have to go by our diet, though. Would you mind that?"

"Being a gold-eye doesn't sound _so_ bad," he mumbled.

Jasper runs up, and he sends a glance at Conner, whom Alice probably already told him about from what she saw in her visions, and then glances at me. "Odd, I'm getting strange feelings from both of you," he tells us. He turns to Alice. "Has your vision of them kissing already come true?"

"WHAT?" Conner and I scream simultaneously. I don't like Conner like that; that would be very gross. I mean, he was hot, with his tall figure and dirty blonde hair. His eyes are a scary bright red, but still seem to look comforting. He has battle scars on his arms, not as much as Jasper though, but that only makes him sexier… But I definitely do not like him as any more than a friend, if I even like him as a friend at all.

Alice hit Jasper on the back of the head. "Ya'll can just pretend I didn't say a word," he says, giving us an apology smile.

"You know what… I'm going to go check on Sam and Danny… yeah," I said awkwardly and left Conner alone with Jasper and Alice.

**Alice and Jasper are back! Woot! More Conner and Bella, Sam and Danny next chapter, hopefully! **

**REVIEW NOW.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Sam's POV

I was sitting on the floor next to the couch where Danny laid, the venom working through him. He looked like he was in so much pain, and it broke my heart to see him this way. I couldn't bring myself to leave though. I couldn't leave him here all alone. I knew he'd never know if I was gone. The pain of the change overpowers everything on the outside. You don't notice who's there and who's not or what they're saying or doing. He wouldn't notice if I left, but I would. I would hate myself for it later, so I stayed.

After awhile I started talking to him. I didn't know why, since chances were he couldn't hear me or wouldn't listen, but I felt like doing it. He wasn't screaming—I was proud of him for that—so most likely he was able to hear me. However, the pain of the change was probably so much that he couldn't focus on what I was saying.

"You're gonna be a vampire soon Danny, not too much longer now. I know it's earlier than we talked about, but I had to do it. You would've died otherwise, and I'm sure you understand that. I'm sorry I almost drank all of your blood. I'm sorry I almost killed you. I really am. I'd never do anything to hurt you if I could help it. I hope you know that…." My ramblings continued on in much the same fashion for several hours. I talked to him about what it was like to be a vampire. What I'd experienced over the years. I told him about how we would have to move all the time, but it would be okay because no humans really ever accepted us anyway. I knew it sounded like a miserable lifestyle, so I apologized a lot too. I tried to tell him about the fun things we got to do, but there was always something I just couldn't explain right.

"The first year is the worst they say. I know my first year was pretty horrible, but then I didn't have any kind of self-control as a human so what was to be expected? Bella said her first year wasn't as bad as some are. I think she only wiped out half of a town or something. It was a small town though. I think you'll be different though. I mean maybe you'll be perfectly normal, but I've just got a feeling, you know?" It was pointless to talk to him like this, when he wouldn't respond, but I kept at it, never stopping.

"Don't worry about the first year though. You don't lose yourself to it completely, and after awhile you're back to your normal self. Well not normal, but you know, as close to normal as you can ever get. I'll still love you even when you're murdering people by the dozen, always remember that. Because you know what? The things I love most about you aren't ever gonna change. I love the way you get nervous sometimes about silly things, but then you're okay with things most people wouldn't be, like the whole vampire thing. I love how when you say 'Hello' it sounds like 'I'm sorry' but when you say goodbye it's like 'Please don't leave me.' I love how you're not afraid to be different…." I was interrupted by a throat being cleared behind me.

I looked around to see Bella standing in the doorway, looking awkward. She smiled at me somewhat sheepishly, and I was immediately suspicious. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Um, some things are gonna change around here," she said.

"Well, duh! With Danny as a vampire we're going to have to move away," I said, "And soon too."

"It's going to change a bit more than that actually. We've got a few new additions to our little coven," she said.

"What? Alice and Jasper are coming with us?" I asked. I had somewhat expected that. No way the perky chick could stay away from Bella for too long.

"And one more," she hinted. I thought for a minute, and what I came up with made me let out a snarl.

"No," I said firmly. There was no way I was letting the monster that nearly killed my Danny into the coven. It wasn't going to happen. Not over my smoldering ashes.

"Come on, Conner needs a place to call home," she pleaded.

"Then he can find somewhere else to call home," I snapped, "There's absolutely no reason to let him in!"

"Alice predicted it!" Bella stated, as if this solved everything. Well I wasn't buying it.

"So? Just because the freakish hyperactive pixie says it's gonna happen doesn't mean it will!" I shouted. She was really pissing me off here. I love Bella like a sister, but she made it so hard sometimes. How could she let another guy into her life when she'd just had her heart broken by one? True, there had to be differences between Conner and Edward, but still, how could she know that? She barely knew the guy for crying out loud!

"I don't go against Alice, ever," she said. I could tell her mind was made up, and Bella was notoriously stubborn, but I wasn't giving in so quickly either.

"Alright, then, tell me why, other than what Alice said, you think it's a good idea to let him join the coven?" I asked. I was trying to trap her in her own logic because I knew there wasn't a single reason she could provide that I couldn't shoot down.

"He . . . he just needs a second chance at life," she said, looking at the floor.

"Oh, like Edward needed a second chance?!" I said sarcastically, "Because that worked out so well."

Her head snapped up and before I could so much as think she had crossed the room and slapped me across the face, hard. Her face bore a murderous look, and I knew I'd hit a touchy subject. "Don't you _ever_ talk about him to me! I know I was stupid! I know I messed up!" she yelled, "I hurt enough over it without you reminding me!"

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," I said, and I meant it, "We'll give this a try."

~Time Skip~

~ten years~

I sat in the plane next to Bella, my foot tapping at what must have been a rather annoying speed. I couldn't believe how long this was taking. Who knew it took more than ten hours to get to Italy from Alabama? I didn't even want to go see the stupid Volturi, but they'd invited us, and according to the Almighty Alice, we had to go. She wouldn't give details, but she said that it had something to do with Danny's powers.

I knew they were amazing, that _he_ was amazing, but still, why did the Volturi have to care? So what if he could absorb energy and use it for whatever he wanted? So what if that meant he could take other people's powers and use them for a minute? So what if that also meant he could tell when people were using their powers on him as well? Okay, so it was really cool, but why did they give a shit?! Maybe I was just cranky because I didn't get to sit next to Danny.

He was seated three rows ahead of me, next to Conner, who we were now calling Bella's "boyfriend." Okay, so when they've been together for the better part of ten years, it should totally be more than that, but that's just what she wanted to call it. Conner was just fine with the title, so we left it alone. Alice and Jasper were currently married, and Danny and I told people we were engaged. We weren't planning on having an actual wedding anytime soon, but in humans' minds and engagement made it sound more official. It didn't matter what we called it. In the vampire world, you knew you were going to be together forever. You didn't need proof.

"Sam would you cut it out already?!" Bella snapped. Apparently my foot tapping was getting out of control.

"Sorry," I said, stopping immediately, "I'm just bored!"

Bella sighed. "Would you like me to switch seats with Danny so that you can suck face?" she asked.

"That's not all we do!" I protested.

"That's all you do in public," she said.

"True enough," I agreed, "Now switch.

Bella slid out of the seat and walked up the aisle to Danny and Conner's seat. I heard a laugh come from Alice, who was seated behind them with Jasper. After a second Danny came back to me and Bella sat down with Conner. I smiled, bouncing up and down in my seat like an excited puppy. Okay, so I'm a bit hopeless. You'd think after ten years I'd get used to him, or bored, or something, but no.

"Hey," he said, sitting down next to me and putting an arm around my waist. I crawled onto his lap, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Hey," I said. I was pretty sure this position was not approved by airline safety standards, but none of us were wearing seatbelts anyway, and the plane crashing wouldn't exactly hurt us.

Bella's POV

"Just couldn't stay away from me huh?" Conner asked jokingly as I sat down.

"Actually, Sam couldn't stay away from Danny, but she sent me to get him rather than move herself," I said.

We fell into silence then, and I started to think back to when Conner had first joined our coven. It had been hard for him to stick to the diet at first, especially since he'd lived on human blood for so long. We barely went anywhere for three years. With both him and Danny having trouble with the diet it was safest to stay away from humans and heavily populated areas.

_I sat in the living room of our new house. It was the first place we'd come to after leaving Wisconsin. For some reason we'd chosen a small town in Nevada. We weren't actually in town, but in a house out in the woods which reminded me far too much of the one the Cullens used to have near Forks. Well we weren't the Cullens anymore. We were the Swans and the Masons. Sam and I were twins and Jasper was our brother. Conner, Danny, and Alice were also being called siblings. This was all a bit of a stretch, considering that not all of us looked alike, but it didn't really matter. We weren't going to school, and no one was really going to see us._

_Alice, Jasper, Sam, and Danny were all out hunting, while Conner and I elected to stay at home. Conner didn't think he could do it, and I didn't want to leave him alone. He'd hunted animals before, so I really didn't see what the problem was, but there was no getting him to go. I looked up at the ceiling where Conner's room sat above this one. He'd been terribly quiet ever since the others left. I decided to check on him._

"_You okay?" I called, knocking on the door._

"_Yeah," came the reply, but I was sure from his tone that he wasn't._

"_Oh really," I said, going in. I didn't care that he hadn't said I could. I just went in and took a seat on the bed next to him. "What's wrong with you?"_

"_I can't do it," he said, not looking at me._

"_Do what?" I asked._

"_You know what," he said, "I can't stick to the gold-eye diet."_

"_Sure you can," I told him._

"_No, I can't. It's too hard," Conner said._

"_Wimp," I muttered._

"_What?" he said, head jerking up to glare at me._

"_You heard me," I teased._

"_I am _not_ a wimp!" he growled._

"_Yes you are! If you give up so easily just because it's a little difficult then that makes you a wimp!" I said._

"_Am not!" he yelled._

"_Are to!" I yelled back. We were arguing rather childishly, but someone we'd moved closer to each other, and my face was only a few inches from his. I took note of this fact but didn't move to change it. I kind of like his proximity._

_He stared at me for a minute, just looking straight into my eyes. Mine were a dark gold, as I hadn't fed in awhile. His were an amber color, since he hadn't been on the veggie diet long enough to turn them completely gold. I leaned in closer, and he copied me. There was one last second of hesitation, and then his lips were on mine. I pressed myself closer to him, my hands shooting up to tangle in his soft hair. His arms wrapped around me. This was better, so much better, than kissing Edward had ever been._

I was brought back to the present by the pilot coming on the overhead intercom to tell us that we were beginning our descent into Milan. It would only be a short drive from there to Volterra, at least the way we drove. I sighed and took hold of Conner's hand, preparing myself for our meeting with the Volturi.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: We may not own Twilight, but we own Sam, Danny, and Conner who are so much cooler then any of the Twilight characters will ever be! Well, Alice and Jasper **_**may**_** be cooler…**

Bella's POV

We soon landed in Milan and the six (Alice, Jasper, Sam, Danny, Conner, and I) of us exited the plane. We all sat and waited for the rest of the family to show up. The rest of the family being Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett of course! After Rose and Emmett got over their honeymoon phase—again—they went back to Carlisle and Esme. They weren't directly a part of our coven, but we still considered each other family. Normally, we see each over every month or so, but it's been half of a year since last time we saw them.

One day, Danny, Alice, Jasper, and I got invitations to come to Volterra for a small "gathering." There was going to be dancing, a boring speech from Aro, and blood (animal and human). Sam and Conner didn't get invitations, though. After calling Carlisle, we found out they didn't get one either. Carlisle thinks they're trying to recruit new members. Apparently "you are formally invited" means "come or we'll hunt you down and burn your asses" in Volturi-speak, also.

The invitation also said we could bring our coven if we wanted to. Since we are too afraid to go to Volterra without Carlisle, we are saying that they are part of our coven. Technically, they are; they just don't live with us.

"Move," said Sam stubbornly as she and Conner fought over the chair beside the one I sat in. "I wanna sit by my sister!" she whined. Sam and Conner fought like Sam and Edward had; Sam actually liked Conner in a brotherly way, unlike how she thought of Edward as a worthless waste of space.

Edward. No one has heard from him in over ten years. I was actually worried that he was dead for a while, but I don't care anymore. I have Conner, and that's all I need. The relationship between Conner and I isn't always a serious relationship, but its fun.

Conner was about to push Sam out of the way and win the seat next to me. "HA! Beat that!" he said in Sam's face uncomfortably. He was holding his breath to avoid the scents of the humans that walked around us.

"Just couldn't stay away from me, huh?" I smirked, copying his words from the plane. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Of course I can't! I love you too much," he stated as if it were obvious.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you too. Now move. I want to sit by my sister." His face fell and he gave me a puppy dog pout. "Not going to work… move!"

Sam did a victory dance before sticking her tongue out at Conner and pushing him out of her seat.

"Fine! I'm going to talk to my favorite sister," he said stubbornly and marched over to Alice. She was watching the planes land. Beside her was Jasper and Danny, who were talking about sports. Danny was a sporty person and liked mostly the violent sports like hockey and boxing, and also the extreme sports.

I was laughing so hard at the mock look of hurt on Sam's face that I didn't hear footsteps behind me. Arms wrapped around me and gave me a bone-crushing bear hug that lifted me off the ground.

"Emmett, put me down!" I shrieked, causing humans that passing us to look our direction. He dropped me on the ground, letting me fall on my butt. "Watch it," I warned, standing back up and hitting him on the back off the head.

Rosalie also hit him on the back of the head. "Idiot," she muttered and we all laughed at Emmett. I gave Rose a big hug. We had become closer in the last couple of years.

By the time I finished giving Carlisle and Esme hugs, the rest of the family had gathered to give hugs of their own. "Shall we head to Volterra, then?" asked Carlisle. We all nodded reluctantly, feeling sullen about going to the dreaded Volturi.

We got three rental cars and split up. Carlisle and Esme got one car with Carlisle driving. Rose, Emmett, Alice and Jasper got the next car. Alice beat Rose down to the ground so she could drive. Sam, Danny, Conner, and I got the last car and unfortunately, Sam was driving. I clutched onto Conner's hand and prayed that she wasn't going to crash again. It's not like it would hurt us, but it made a mess of everything.

Soon, we made it to a small, but beautiful town. It looked ancient and terrifying, but that's what made it beautiful. A castle towered over the city, perched on a big hill. Once we got into the city we parked our car and met up with the others. It was cloudy today, so we had no risk of exposure.

"So, Carlisle, what do we do now?" asked Danny with a hint of impatience. Before Carlisle could answer, two grey figures walked towards us, seeming to materialize out of the shadows.

"Aro has sent us to bring you to the castle," said the one on the left, and they started to walk back up the hill that held the Volturi Castle. We followed.

When inside the castle, I looked around at the beautiful decorations as we got a tour of some random parts of the castle. I found myself falling behind the two Volturi Guards and the guys of our covens.

Wait… where are the girls?

Out of no where, a hand wrapped around my mouth and dragged me into one of the many rooms of the Volturi Castle. My shrieks for help were muffled by the strong hand that also found off my struggles.

I squinted my eyes in the dark room, but could still see with my super-vampire scenes. The hand disappeared and my eyes adjusted to the darkness only to see an evil grin beaming in my face. Alice. I couldn't help it; I screamed for my life and ran for the door. It was guarded by Sam. The two windows were guarded by Esme and Rose. I thought they were family. Family would never do this to family. "Family my ass," I muttered to myself.

"Now Bella, don't be cross. It's a dance, so it wouldn't be right if you went into the ball room in front of many of the vampire population in ratty jeans and an old, ugly t-shirt," Alice tried to reason. I knew I should have been suspicious when she didn't try to dress me up for the plane ride here, and let me wear whatever I wanted.

"The boys are going to dress up, too. And don't you want to dress up for Conner? He said he was looking forward to seeing my work in the fashion arts on you," Alice said.

"He what?" I asked. THAT TRAITOR! How could he agree with Alice's torment when he knew I hated it? He didn't even tip me off that they were planning it. Edward would never have agreed to that. At least the Edward I knew as a human wouldn't have; I don't know about the Edward I met as a vampire, though.

Why am I even thinking about Edward at all?

"Oops," Alice smiled apologetically and looked at the others. "I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?"

"You tell me; you can see the answer I'm about to say," replied Sam.

"Bella, forget what I said. Do it for me, please?" begged Alice with her award-winning puppy pout. I gave in.

"You should have seen that the pout was going to work this easy and done that in the beginning," scoffed Sam. She likes annoying Alice with the vision comments. Alice gave her an irritated glare but otherwise ignored it. She had work to do.

Two hours later, I found myself in a strapless, dark blue ball gown that flowed to the floor. I was caked with a simple layer of make-up. After Alice had put me in the dress, she spent a half of an hour alone persuading me to let down my shield so she could put the make up on. Make up wasn't part of the deal!

The other girls put on their dresses too at some point when they weren't caking my face. We walked down the hall, trying to remember the way to the ballroom, when Aro's voice boomed throughout the castle. "Welcome guests, to the castle Volterra. I'm glad you all came to this gathering, as some like to call it." Aro started to talk about the Volturi and what they are, making them sound a lot more awesome then they really are. Then he started talking about the members of the guard, their powers, and some personal information.

We finally found the double doors of the ball room.

"…We move on to Alec's twin sister, Jane. She looks harmless, but is quite the opposite…"

At the front of the room stood three black-cloaked men known as Aro, Marcus, and Caius, the "Vampire Kings." Aro stood in the middle, talking. They weren't actually kings, but they were similar to them. Around them stood the highest ranked vampires in the Volturi with their dark grey, almost black, cloaks. In front of them was a larger group of vampires, the rest of the Volturi guard, with smoky grey cloaks on.

"Where's the guys?" asked Rose, scanning the crowd.

I scanned along with her. I caught Conner's eyes in the crowd, standing near the others who listened to Aro, smiling at me. I looked away from the traitor. "I don't see them. Let's go look over there," I suggested, pointing in the opposite direction I had found Conner and the others in. I knew he could probably hear me, and I didn't care in the slightest. I was mad at him and wanted him to know it.

"…and we highly value Jane's power here in the guard. Next, we have our newest member of ten years. Turned in 1918 at the age 17, his powers are …"

"Oh god dammit," cursed Sam. "And when I finally get my privacy!" she exclaimed quietly. I followed her gaze to a smoky-cloaked man glaring at Sam. What she had said was too quiet for even vampire ears at his distance away to hear, but that's probably not why he was glaring. Sam must have said something mean in her mind.

But this was no ordinary man. He had bronze hair, cut to only be two inches or so, and spiked up. He was somehow paler, more dangerous looking. His eyes glowed a bright red, obviously freshly fed. He couldn't be…

"…Edward Masen…" Aro's words in his incredibly long monologue of rambling verified that the red-eyed man staring daggers at Sam was indeed, Edward Cullen, or was it Masen now?

Sam looked at Alice. "How come you didn't see this, either?" Alice just shook her head, ashamed not that she didn't see this, but that her ex-brother was in the Volturi guard.

**I was going to end here, but it's not long enough for my liking.**

Conner's POV

I stared at the back of Bella's head as she moved to the other side of the ballroom. I hadn't been paying too much attention to what the old vampire dude was saying until two words caught my attention.

"…Edward Masen…" My body went colder and I froze. The shocked gasps of the Cullens and Swans beside me seemed distant. All I wanted to do was go and punch that Edward in the face. I came back when Aro had finished his speech and started up the music to dance. The bronze-haired bastard started to walk in Bella's direction.

Oh, _hell_ no.

I walked fast pace through the gobs of people, pushing some aside if needed. They'd say some mean comment to their friends about how rude I was and move on. No big deal.

Edward was just about to tap Bella's shoulder. Bella was turned around and started talking Sam, both of them acting like he wasn't even there. Rose, Esme, and Alice had left to go find their men and see if they had heard the news.

"Get way from my girl," I said rather loudly. People around us turned to stare.

"_Your_ girl? Last I checked she was mine," replied Edward snottily like he owned her. From what I've heard, this dude didn't have an attitude before. That's what human blood can do to you, though.

"Yeah, ten years ago. This is what happens when you leave a girl, Eddie. They move on and find a better man," I said. I gave him a smug smile. I knew everything about him and all he knew was that I was Bella's boyfriend. Edward growled at me when I thought that word.

By now, most of the guests and guards were watching us. "Maybe you were just her rebound," suggested Edward, "What do you think, Bella?"

I shifted my eyes to look at Bella. I could tell that she wanted to argue against Edward in my defense, but she was too mad at me to do so. I knew exactly why, too. Why'd I have to side with Alice in the first place?

Edward smirked. He now knew we were fighting, and why thanks to my stupid brain. "See, she's not even going to defend you. She's really mad, Conner. You must have screwed up pretty bad," he said.

"Really, _I'm_ the one who screwed up?" I said. I'd had it with Edward. He had no right to talk about pissing off Bella; he's left her TWICE. I opened my mouth to say something more, but quickly changed my mind.

I spontaneously lunged at him. I hadn't been thinking—I never do—so he didn't expect it.

_This is for_ _Bella, Eddie-Boy,_ I thought as I punched him in the stomach.

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